Why do I put up with you?
by DeannaReadX
Summary: What if the person you hated turned out to be one of the only people willing to save you? Of course, just like always, just when you think the worst is over, the thing you were most afraid of creeps up on you. Getting her back was just the beggining...
1. Chapter 1

**HEY! So I am attempting to write this at the same time as the sequal to Aude Ingredi but I don't know how successful it's going to be. Let me know what you think! **

**Dea xxx  
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><p><strong><em>"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that" ~ Martin Luther King<em>**

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><p>"Thomson" Malfoy spoke curtly, giving the man escorting him through the door a brief nod of acknowledgement before tucking a silver engraved lighter decorated with him family crest into the designer pocket of his black, ironed blazer.<p>

The man simply nodded back nervously and followed Draco's quick, gracefully arrogant step through the ornate oak door. The man chose to ignore a rather secretive looking exchange of money between the young heir and the director of the sickening gathering.

Draco slipped into the glass booth and gestured to Thomson to make the waiter get him a Martini and sat down nonchalantly. His pale, ice blue eyes betrayed his cool exterior though; they were hardened and fixed on a spot that lay on the floor in the circular showroom outside his booth. He was nervous as well.

Around the centre of the circle, there was another circle, filled with glass booths. Each of them occupied rich and rather ugly old men with hungry, impatient eyes.

"Malfoy, remind me why Potter sent you into a room full of perverts who are far past their sell by dates? It is a most obvious and rather awful cover" the man commented, his voice completely void of expression and emotion.

Malfoy smirked slightly, keeping his eyes on the same place in the room. "Because I am the best actor in office and I have never failed to get a decent result in these easy little missions he sends me on. Also, I'm the only person who was never friends with her so I will not simply buy her, let you take her back across the border and then go on some pointless rampage of revenge" the blonde answered, not looking at a young waiter boy bringing him the small glass of wine and the large bottle of Vermouth that went with it.

The young boy nervously placed the silver tray down on the small table and scurried out of the room. Malfoy took a deep swig from the glass and whispered a wandless spell to get rid of his fingerprints and DNA. He simply moved in his chair a little and went back to his hard stare at the middle of the room.

Thomson leaned against the back of the small booth, keeping his handsome and expertly expressionless posture firmly in place as he stretched his legs out and settled with delving his hands deep within his grey tailored trouser pockets.

"Malfoy, it's starting" Thomson observed, watching every man sit forward abruptly in eager anticipation.

The young blonde re-adjusted himself in his chair and drew in a sharp breath, readying himself. Music clicked on and played quietly as a door on the other side of the room flicked open and a body was thrown forcefully out into the centre.

Thomson's face took on a rare expression of shock and Malfoy's knuckles had gone white as he gripped the chair, struggling inwardly to keep his feelings below the surface of his flawless skin; no one, not even she should be made do something like that.

The girl was still in the position she'd fallen in and was making no effort to move her obviously damaged knee. She was their age and she was quite tall, taller than Malfoy remembered; around six foot. She was very, very skinny and the thin piece of red lace she'd been forced to wear hung off her weak, broken body. Her hair was still as long and curly as it had always been but it held no shine, it was dry and damaged. She had red dots going all the way up the bottom half of her arm where they'd forced muggle needles into her and bruises stood out shockingly against her ghostly pale white skin. Her eyes were darkened and droopy but something in them burned brighter than her famous short fuse, annoying courage and obvious fear and exhaustion; pure, raw anger.

"This young piece of meat was a virgin until recently and is nineteen years old. She has proved to be difficult but is reasonably compliant when threatened with the right things"

Thomson heard Malfoy swallow his own anger quietly as the music stopped and the bidding began.

"Right okay, account number seven at 3000 Euros, and nine at 4000. Number five at 4250. Number 10 at 5030 Euros. Number seven at 5500"

"Account nine at... 10,000 Euros"

"Malfoy" Thomson warned, pushing away from the glass and walking forwards.

"No further bids on 10,000 Euros? Oh, account eight, bids... 20,000 Euros"

"Draco please be careful" Thomson hissed as number eight bid even higher.

"Number nine at; WOW! 70,000 Euros"

"MALFOY!" Thomson hissed louder but the young heir ignored his 'security guard's' warnings.

"Shut it! My orders were to get her out of here and that's exactly what I'm doing" Malfoy whispered back and smirked smugly when eight backed out of the bidding war and swore from across the room.

"The current young girl goes to account number nine. Congratulations on your buy sir, we hope you are fully satisfied with your purchase" the voice said through the megaphone. Malfoy immediately stood up and turned to walk out of his booth. He whispered in Thomson's ear "don't alert Potter until I'm out with her".

Thomson nodded and grabbed Malfoy's arm, manoeuvring him out of the room and up the corridor to meet the director again.

"She's in there" the director indicated to the door he was stood in front of in an Italian accent.

"I'll have your money transferred before midnight" Malfoy informed impatiently and pushed passed the manager, closing the door behind him when Thomson had followed him through. A silencing charm was put up and as he turned to her sat on a wooden chair in the middle of the crummy dark room, he sighed heavily.

"Fuck" he cursed. He rushed forwards and checked her over. She was almost passing out and there was a line of sweat breaking out across her forehead. She was obviously on heroin and was nursing several broken bones. He pushed her hair out of her face and held it between his hands.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, shaking her a little. She stirred slightly but was still too out of it to say anything so he gently lifted her over his shoulder in a fireman carry and made sure his silencing charm was still fully functional before he pointed his wand at the opposite wall and blasted a hole in it.

"Malfoy! When we get back I'm issuing a complaint about your erratic behaviour. How the hell am I supposed to handle you when you're deliberately trying to get yourself killed?" Thomson ranted, stepping through the whole after him and repairing it as the young heir automatically broke into a run along the concrete in the street to get to the harbour.

When they reached it, Thomson raised his eyebrows in amusement "extravagant even for you Malfoy" he commented on the huge pristine yacht sitting grandly in the water in front of them.

"Well you know, I thought I'd do a bit of fucking window shopping on my way now shut your face and move your arse" Malfoy snapped, adjusting the barely conscious girl on his back as he stepped on board and motioned to one of the workers to start the boat. He rushed her down some steps and gently set her down on the sofa so he could check her out properly.

He took a small vial out of his pocket and slid his hand around the back of her neck to lift her head. She parted her cut lips slightly and he tipped a few drops of the liquid down her throat. He relaxed somewhat and knelt down in front of her to wait while the strengthening potion worked.

Thomson sat himself down on one of the very comfortable looking armchairs near them and sat back nonchalantly as though nothing had just happened and they didn't have a drugged up girl on their sofa who had been captured, taken across the world and tortured raped and then auctioned off for it all to happen again.

Of course, they would not have simply just turned up at the building to buy any old girl and nurse her back to health; Draco Malfoy was not that kind. No, Arundo Thomson and Draco Malfoy had been assigned to a certain case and they had been chasing this girl's captors across the world for months. Both were Aurors and had been given the 'mission' by head of the office, Harry Potter who had only defeated the dark lord AKA Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle, snake boy; whatever people were calling the dead bastard these days, two years previous and had seemed to make a very fast recovery.

Malfoy hated to admit it but Potter was extremely good at his job; Potter had surprised him and kept him out of Azkaban. The annoying idiot had given him a job and trained him up to be almost as good an Auror as 'wonder boy' himself.

Malfoy's senses were unnaturally acute, he could feel different people's magic around him and recognise different quivers in his magical atmosphere. He could read people easily and almost always guess what they were going to do next. Malfoy loved replaying the memory of Weasel's face when Potter had given Malfoy the compliments and the lessons and the Auror status before anyone else.

Of course, Malfoy and Potter's relationship was not as strained as it used to be but they still argued and fought. However, Malfoy's life had taken a strange turn during the first summer of his official job when he'd been paired with the female half of the golden trio and put on the case of some magical drug runners. They'd worked on them for seven months when the silly girl had gotten a lead and gone in without informing Malfoy first and she'd been captured. This was when they'd learned that drug running wasn't the wizard gangster's only profession as the head strong woman was forcefully drugged up on heroin and had been chained to a bed in a scabby, smelly little brothel somewhere in France. They'd always been one step behind these Egyptian gangsters until about a week before the auction and Malfoy had a phone call from the director of the gathering. He'd managed to secure a place in the bidding ceremony and had alerted Thomson to prepare the backup should their cover be blown.

Much to Malfoy's surprise, everything had gone rather smoothly and now they had the female saviour back. The only dilemma now was getting her off the drugs and back into the full bossy, annoying, bushy haired feisty little know-it-all that they all knew and were used to at the ministry.

Draco had never thought in a million years that he would feel protective over the irritating little witch and he would never admit it out loud but, he had grown... dare he think it, slightly; just a little, fond of her.

He was ripped from his disturbing train of thought however when the young witch stirred again and stretched out her limbs painfully. He immediately stopped her carefully in case she broke her bones even more.

"Malfoy?" she whimpered weakly.

He growled "What the fuck did you think you were doing? You could have ruined everything! I had to put Longbottom on the case so I could come looking for you! Potter was furious, blamed it on me! Arsehole! Really, do you have any idea how worried people have been?" he ranted but it was not malicious, merely a little angry despite his softer tone.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered, her eyes still flickering a little. He sighed and pinched his nose between his fingers.

"Just don't do that again Granger" he said, looking at her. She looked so tired.

"Don't move for a few seconds okay?" he said firmly, taking out his wand and slowly fixing her bones, letting her dig her fingernails into his shoulder blades as he worked so she could deal with the pain.

When he had finished, she had tears streaming down her face.

"I bet you're gasping for a shower right Granger?" Thomson commented for the first time and she sat up fast.

"Granger stop moving!" Malfoy exclaimed, still kneeled down in front of her. For the first time, she had a smile on her face.

"Rundo! I missed you!" she said, making an attempt to get up and hug the guy but she keeled over and collapsed back into a sitting position. Malfoy sighed and stood up only to sit back down next to her.

"I told you not to move" he stated simply but she ignored his closed off tone as usual "Malfoy if you do not shut up I will have to hug you as well and I know that will traumatise you for life or whatever and you'll complain to Harry so seriously, shut the fuck up. As for you Thomson, get your butt over here so I can snog your face off" she said playfully.

Thomson rolled his eyes and moved forward to hug her and place a small kiss on her cheek.

"You should listen to Malfoy though, don't you ever do that again Hermione, even Malfoy was worried and I've never seen him work so hard on anything before. He's sure to get a promotion when we get back to England" Thomson said, making Malfoy scowl and go to get a drink of Scotch.

"Since when does he drink muggle alchoho..." she was cut off when her eyes went watery and her head started to burn.

"Shit" she whispered. "What? Malfoy, something's wrong" Thomson called worriedly. Malfoy came quickly and looked at her funny when he saw her.

"You aren't addicted are you?" he asked and she shook her head.

He nodded curtly "It's just the heroin coming out of your system then" he informed, going back to making his drink.

"Why is he being so weird, the guy hates me" she said in a hushed tone. Thomson shrugged his shoulders "Sometimes, we learn to live with what we hate and even miss it when it's gone. He's been a dick without you to argue with Granger. Now how about that shower?" he asked, helping her up off the sofa and aiding her to hobble across the shiny floor of the boat to the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

_**"We hate some persons because we do not know them; and will not know them because we hate them" ~ Charles Caleb Colton**_

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><p>"Granger, if you don't eat that meal I will open your overdeveloped blabber mouth and shove it down your neck" Malfoy snapped, inwardly smiling.<p>

Something he hated the most about Hermione Granger was the fact that she could make him smile. No one had ever been able to do that and it made him feel exposed and vulnerable; Malfoy never felt like that.

He despised having to admit it to himself but he had missed the infuriating book worm. He had missed arguing with her and getting her so angry that her wavy hair frizzled out and her cheeks went a dangerous colour of red. Thomson was too easy to annoy though; the man was boring and too careful. Malfoy was the type of person who needed someone to take his anger out on but also someone who would not lay down for him like Pansy and take his bullshit.

Granger hated him just as much as he hated her and he liked it that way; they worked. In fact, their new 'working' relationship had somewhat changed things between the old school enemies. Maybe hate was a bit strong; perhaps disliked. Yes, that would be the better word.

Of course, the young blonde would not have chased some of the most dangerous wizard gangsters across Europe, broke into several top secret organisations and paid 70,000 Euros to get Granger back if he hated her.

No, Malfoy would have turned around and told Potter to fuck right off. Malfoy was not stupid either. If there was something he had learned from both his dead father's and his own mistakes, it was that it was too easy to die to spend your time hating people.

He also knew himself better now than he ever had and he also knew Granger after begrudgingly allowing himself to obey Potter and work with her. He saw that she was as strong, hot headed and committed to the job as he was. Malfoy had hated being an Auror to begin with because of all the publicity but when he'd settled in, he found he enjoyed the drive and slight danger that being the second best in the department allowed him. He had even found somewhat of a bantering relationship with his boss; respecting the nineteen year old for how courageous he was. Bloody effing Gryfindorks.

She scowled at him but did not keep it up for long as the expression seemed to hurt her blackened eyes and stitched forehead.

She looked so small in his hoodie that was a little too big for her. She'd pulled her newly washed hair up into a scruffy pony tail and had thrown on a simple pair of jeans she'd found in a wardrobe. Her skin was flushed from the shower she'd been forced into by Thomson and she looked a little better. Her injuries were more obvious now though as the angry red gash just underneath her eye had been too deep for him to heel immediately.

He broken bones had been fixed but one of her ribs had been shattered quite badly and, despite Malfoy being able to heel it, it was still causing her a little discomfort. She had not said anything about the drugs as the potion Malfoy had given her earlier contained an ingredient of Snape's design to counteract them. He could tell she was going to be tired for a little while as well but the stubborn young brunette refused to lie down, insisting that she'd had enough sleep already.

"I hope you weren't too mean to Thomson; he's a good guy" she said, letting go of her pride and stabbing a piece of the steak pie a house elf had cooked for her with her fork.

Malfoy scoffed and looked annoyed "The man is almost as insufferable as you Granger. You and I manage fine don't we? I didn't break both his legs if that is what you're asking me" he answered, earning him a familiar look of disapproval from his newly appointed partner.

"Malfoy!" she sighed exasperatedly. He blessed her with the trademarked Malfoy smirk and watched in satisfaction as she grumpily shoved the piece of pastry and meat into her mouth.

"He calls himself my 'handler' like I'm a child. You know I hate it when people do that Granger" he said bitterly. She surprised him by smiling at him warmly, tilting her head to the side momentarily.

He frowned but she simply chuckled quietly to herself "I missed you" she said simply as though it was a perfectly normal thing. She looked back down at her dinner, taking another mouthful of the pie and taking a swig of the strengthening potion mixed with pumpkin juice.

"Don't start your Gryffindor crap Granger, you know I despise you doing that" he muttered, leaning against the worktop of the pristine boat and messing up his blonde hair subconsciously. It was her turn to frown.

"When was the last time you slept Malfoy?" she asked firmly and he sighed, sensing she was about to go into rant mode.

"Two days ago" he answered truthfully, knowing she would be able to tell if he was lying anyway.

The first rule of working with Granger was to understand that she was just as clever as you. There was no point in underestimating her; Malfoy preferred his bollocks stuck to his body thank you very much. Second rule was to know her as well as she knew you. Never, under any circumstances, mollycoddle her; she absolutely loathed sympathy and being made a fuss out of. He had never had to learn this the hard way of course because he was not a sensitive being and would never have dreamed of offering her his shoulder to cry on anyway. However, now they were partners, he understood her better and he knew how to deal with her when she was upset.

He had also found out that Granger was a very compassionate person and she would even worry about _him_ if he wasn't looking after himself properly. He hated this as well but he let her moan nonetheless, seeing that she needed something to focus in when she was in such and emotionally vulnerable state. He knew also that he needed to do something that she most certainly wouldn't like. He was doing it for her own good though and she would see that afterwards.

"Granger shut up, I will sleep when you do okay?" he snapped, trudging over to the table she was sitting at and throwing himself down on the chair.

"But Malf-"

"Granger, be quiet for a second. I need you to do something and its best you do it now before we get back to England and the press start strangling you. I need you to make a statement" he said. The softness of his own voice surprised him and her face froze.

As usual, her eyes clasped onto his own, maintaining a tight hold on his complete attention. It was these moments that he'd missed the most.

Throughout his life, Malfoy had never truly connected with anyone but his mother and she just annoyed him to no end; he loved her though. Actually, Narcissa Malfoy was probably the only person on the planet he'd ever truly loved. She was like him in a lot of ways. She did not hold his constant arrogance but she did have a lot of confidence and tended to make bold comments on everything that popped into her clever and cunning Slytherin brain. But it was a known fact amongst everyone that too much eye contact was dangerous; you end up daydreaming and that person could very easily invade your mind. Malfoy never had this problem with Hermione though. There was something in those aggravatingly beautiful chocolate brown eyes that had him hanging on to her every word. And he trusted her so he was confident she would not be attacking his memories any time soon. That was another one of her unspoken rules. If you wanted her to trust you, you had to trust her.

If there was anything the two young rivals shared in their blunt and tense relationship, it was complete and utter trust.

They were responsible for each other as work partners and so it was inevitable that they would have to hold some level of understanding. Malfoy would never have agreed to work with the know-it-all if he did not believe that they would have each other's backs.

After about ten minutes that he hadn't really realised had gone passed, she drew in a deep, sharp breath and nodded solidly.

"Yes. What did you want to know?" she asked, already knowing the procedure as they had interrogated and interview suspects and victims together a number of times.

"Obviously, I need to start with what happened when you went into that muggle crack house" he started and she sighed, moving in her chair to get comfortable.

"Draco, I think you're going to need a drink"

He got them through it as fast as he could and she cried a couple of times; she was still human and she was the overemotional Hermione Granger, he had never expected her to keep a dry eye. Even though the woman was strong, she still had a certain sensitivity about her. He supposed without it, she would be as cold as him. He was learning though, very, very gradually.

He ended it with a question of his own.

"Granger, why do you make yourself so vulnerable by having so much importance to rely on in your life?" he asked, scribbling her last answer on the parchment and delving it inside his trouser pocket; he had taken off his blazer while she was in the shower and he now had the first three buttons of his shirt undone. It was untucked and the tie he'd been wearing was discarded somewhere in the living room of the yacht. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his blonde, silky hair was a mess, falling about his face and eyes so he had to keep running his fingers through it or flicking it away from his stressed complexion.

She looked at him without emotion but seemed to decide against matching her answer with her cold attire and she drew her knees up to tuck under her chin.

"I hate and I love. Perhaps you ask why I do so. I do not know, but I feel it, and am in agony" she said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall forward so her face was hidden.

For once, Malfoy could think of no reply to her answer and he simply got up, crouched down boyishly in front of her, letting one of his hands rest on her back.

"I'm out of my depth here Granger and you know it. How am I supposed to fix you this time? Something tells me offering you a quickie on deck wont piss you off enough to get angry and let your anger out on me or something" he said, pleased when he heard her let out a small, sob muffled chuckle.

"In your dreams Slytherin" she whispered, lifting her head to look at him.

"Granger I was being serious earlier though, never do that to me again" he said and stood up, turning to walk out of the room. As he went to close the door, he could have sworn he heard her utter once again, her soft voice laced with playful bitterness "I did miss you".


	3. Chapter 3

Hi again! So thanks for my one review! No seriously, and thanks to whoever favourited and alerted. You guys are awesome! Anyway, I wanted to start up the mystery in this chapter because I want this plotline to be a little more intense than my last Dramione but the plot wont thicken very much until another few chapters. I just wanted to define their current relationship a bit more clearly in this chapter. I'm trying to do the whole 'Oooh! Who is this strange person making everyone's life hell?' thing because I love those types of stories; I think they get you going a bit.

Cheers again and I will try to keep these guys in character as much as possible. Pairing will be as slow as I can manage but they are already friends so it won't be too long.

Dee xxxx

**"In time, we come to hate that which we often fear."~ Shakespeare**

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><p>Hermione was sat in the same hoodie she had found three weeks previous and she was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with muggle witch boots. Her hair blew softly in smooth, brunette tendrils. It moved with the wind, casually clasping onto the corners of her eyelashes innocently as the salty sea air crawled through her sinuses and down into the pits of her lungs, relaxing and tensing her thin, slender body at the same time. Her brown eyes closed and opened depending on the nature and wavelengths of her occasional thoughts and musings and the grass beneath her buttocks waved back and forth in rhythm with her increasingly knotty lengths of hair.<p>

Her cheeks were tracked with salty, almost dried tears and her lips were chapped but still full despite her inevitable habit of biting them; she needed some way to take out her nervousness.

Her body was indeed beginning to recover and she no longer ached constantly or collapsed in aftershocks of her previous consistent crucio wracked form. She no longer felt broken, just simply cracked; like a glass vase that wasn't shattered properly but could not be glued back together with even the strongest sellotape.

It was not the quiet of the place; she was perfectly used to deafening silence and had grown accustomed to people not knowing what to say to her. It was not the emptiness of the place; she had seen places so lost in the damage of war that nothing inhabited the land anymore. It was not the grey sky, matching the gloom of the stormy, angry water below it; she had listened to waves angry and relentless, stared at skies dark and cloudy. It was all these things put together; the true and heartbreaking beauty and innocence of such a place and the way everything came together in such unbelievable nothingness, it broke her heart, frightened her, made her happy but made her angry at the same time. This was the reason that her tears had fallen, the reasons that she had not moved from that spot since the nonexistent sunrise of that morning.

She simply could not pretend anymore; she was letting everything go. Letting the emotions weaving painfully fast through her tired but strong and brilliant brain escape and become mere vibrations in the rain sprayed Plymouth sea air.

She had asked Malfoy feebly to inform Harry that they were taking a month to get back, travelling slowly to prolong and give her more time to recover before being plunged back into harsh reality where people knew everything about her and could ruin her life even more within a single heartbeat.

He had rung Harry with a muggle mobile charmed to work on magic so that the signal never wavered and spoken briskly of her request and put it to his boss that if he was refused, he would be forced to disobey a direct order. Naturally, Harry had understood that the young Malfoy was not bluffing and had agreed to give them a month and nothing more.

This was how Hermione had found their yacht moored in at a small harbour next to a coastal line at the bottom of a grassy hill and fishing pontoon called Mount wise. And in her opinion, it was the most beautiful place they'd been yet.

There was just one thing about the place that made her wearier than all the other small stops they'd made coming back from the far side of France; a constant feeling of eyes watching her every move. It was like a lingering presence in the air, stronger at times than others and less obvious; so much that she forgot it was even there at times. But it was there and it was crushing down, clinging onto her body like a thousand leeches all over her. It was potent and would not leave her as long as they were there.

Still, no matter how paranoid it made her, she could not bring herself to shorten their visit. This place had grabbed onto a place in her heart and had become her source of release and calm; yes, like a drug although she had indeed had enough of those to last her a lifetime. Drugs had been the worst thing really; they made her numb. They also made things ten times more exaggarated and made her feel exposed.

She knew Malfoy would feel it too. She had noticed he had a knack for sensing things that were not visible; things that were friendly and things that would bait them. But she had not seen him all day and she expected that he'd stayed put to leave her be. For some reason she drew comfort from the fact that he knew her more than she really knew herself. Harry and Ron had never tried and had done what they thought was right for her, never giving much thought to what she thought would be.

Ginny had attempted to work out the cogs of her brain but had never studied and used such an in-depth understanding of her person than Malfoy did. She had missed him.

Hermione had learnt a lot in two years. She saw that she didn't really hate Malfoy and she didn't mind that fact anymore. She also saw that she had only believed in her insistent hatred because she feared him and his observant brain. It is good to have someone know you so well but it is also the most dangerous thing in the world, they had the potential to ruin you and then kill you.

At the bottom of the hill she was sitting on, she saw a jacketed figure with blinding blonde hair that was blowing heavily against the wind as the toned and tall figure pulled the jacket tighter around him she smirked in amusement as she sensed his frustration at having to walk all the way up the hill. Instead she felt his thoughts shift and he twirled fast and popped up next to her, sat down casually as though he had not just breached the entire statue of secrecy.

"You're reckless Malfoy" she commented, feeling warm as she saw his trademarked smirk flip up the corner of his mouth. "So are you" he retorted. Fair point.

She chuckled and shivered slightly, the cold whipping through the thick fabric of Malfoy's green hoodie. Surprise shot through her veins when his arm snaked around her shoulders and pulled her close into his warmth, his other arm threaded under her knees and pulled her into his lap so she could cuddle into him.

She was in no way reading too much into his sudden body contact; Malfoy was very hot and cold and simply gave her what he thought she needed so they could get back to work. They weren't even friends but he understood the concept of psychology and he knew that despite her hard exterior, she had been alone for weeks and was still feeling dethatched from everything. She had also caught on to something inside him in their few weeks travelling as well; something a little of and she suspected that he needed warmth too and she strongly believed that the young looker would have to have lost his mind to seek that warmth from their fellow traveller Thomson.

No, instead he sought contact from the one person he felt slightly connected to within a hundred mile radius. He only had to wait one more week and he could see his mother; no hugging Granger in ridiculously romantic yet slightly eerie settings, no siree. Never again.

Yet he could not deny how good it felt to have someone in his arms, someone who needed him just as much as he needed them. Not that he'd ever admit that he needed Granger of course; he could tolerate the insufferable bitch but he wouldn't go as far as to say he liked her in any way shape or form.

Malfoy was aware that she was shivering but he didn't dare look down at her to see if it was because she was crying again or because she was cold. Instead, he let her grip him around the waist and snuggle painfully tight into him as he looked thoughtfully out across the picturesque seas that led to France.

There was an island in the middle of the sea, he supposed it was just mount Edgecombe but he could not be sure. He allowed himself to close his eyes and lay his chin on top of her head, ignoring the waves of hair blowing in his face now and again.

"I think you've gone soft Malfoy" she murmured slightly shakily and it confirmed his suspicions of her weeping. He growled but did not move from his position or loosen his grip.

"I saved your life Gryffindor, do not make me regret it" he said in a sharp tone as she chuckled beneath him and resumed their comfortable silence.

She did not know when something had changed between them; just that it did.

It was as plain and simple as that. No silly 'we're falling for each other' nonsense because they most certainly were not. But in that space of a small moment of laughter and heartbreak; they knew they could never hate each other ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

**"...Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."~ Stephen King**

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><p>The day after they made port at Mount Wise in Plymouth, Draco decided that he wanted to go and see his family. Thomson had a bad case of the flu and was bed bound and therefore incapable of watching Hermione.<p>

So, consequently, Hermione had been forced to accompany her partner to the home of his pure-blooded aunt and uncle and their clan of Malfoy children.

This was what had found Hermione stood outside a very surprisingly muggle looking maisonette that didn't look grand or expensive in the slightest. In fact, Hermione used to know some of the muggles that lived in the area and she knew that Granby Street, Devonport was actually one of the roughest neighbourhoods in the whole city.

Malfoy stood protectively behind her, his wand clutched tightly in his perfectly steady hand. Hermione was also holding her own; the cold, hard wood comforting against her sweaty hand. Malfoy had acquired her wand for her whilst he was chasing a lead through Venice and had given it back to her begrudgingly after she had promised not to run off and do something stupid.

She knew that the whole Malfoy family were neutral now but she could not help but feel like she was being thrown into the snake pit.

"Granger stop shaking and move your ass" Malfoy hissed, placing a soft hand on her back and gently pushing her forward a little, prompting her to move her feet. She opened the gate and took more confident steps up some patio slabs, the cool concrete hard beneath the thin rubber of her worn down muggle black pumps.

Slowly and carefully, she felt Malfoy's breath against her neck as he leaned over her from behind to knock surely on the glass of the window in the front door. The orange curtains were closed and a dog began to bark as it quivered slightly and Hermione heard voices as the curtain flung open and a tall, slightly pot bellied handsome man pulled the handle and pushed the door outwards, greeting them with a warm smile.

"Drake! Ryan's wanted to see you all day!" Stuart Malfoy exclaimed, pulling his step nephew into a warm hug with a grin on his face as he took in Hermione over his shoulder.

"Is this the girlfriend you were telling us abou-" but the man was cut off in mid sentence when a small, thirteen year old blonde boy grey muggle tracksuit bottoms pushed passed him and nearly knocked Malfoy to the ground with the ferocity of his exited embrace.

Malfoy laughed freely and Hermione couldn't help grinning down at them rolling about on the floor and play fighting.

"Ry, you're ruining my new Jeans mate!" Malfoy said, pulling the young boy into a headlock. "And shut up Stu, I told you she's not my girlfriend. We're childhood enemies. I'm acting as her protector until we get back to London" he informed, pulling Ryan into a fireman carry and pull him through the door as Stuart gestured kindly for Hermione to follow them indoors.

Their behaviour was surprisingly... normal. For people who were supposed to be ignorant, bigheaded and extremely rich.

Hermione stepped over the threshold and looked around at a reasonably spaced out living room with a brown interior simple corner sofa and a matching arm chair against the far wall. A big television was in the far left corner mounted on a brown oak stand with a cupboard installed inside it. Laminate wooden flooring covered the room and a spare table was pushed against a wall next to a cabinet by a small square window on the opposite side of the room.

A whole family was gathered around. On the armchair, a teenage girl that looked about sixteen was sat, engrossed in what Hermione guessed was Facebook chat on her muggle mobile phone. Hermione guessed that this was Kayleigh; Ryan's sister.

Kayleigh had shoulder length immaculately straight, light brown hair and was a little overweight. She was beautiful though and she had Draco's pale blue eyes and skin.

Then there was the mother of the family. Draco had described her very accurately actually; the woman had wrinkles but she was pretty and had beautifully sparkly fierce brown eyes. Her skin was tanned however, for a Malfoy and her hair was blonde. She was freakishly short for someone who was supposed to be in their late forties; the same size as her son Ryan and cutely small next to her six foot two husband Stuart.

Stuart was handsome. He was oldish looking though and had deep green eyes and tanned skin. Hermione could tell that he was not related to the Malfoy's by blood.

"Donna" Malfoy acknowledged with a look of respect on his face and a fond smile. The woman stood up with grace and embraced her nephew tightly, closing her eyes and smiling.

"I missed you Dray, Dea and Kelsie are sorry they can't be here of course. They all have school in the morning and it was their mother's weekend with them. You must be Hermione or as Drake refers to you as 'Granger'".

"It's all good Don, I'll pop up to Stoke tomorrow and say hello before I go. I'm sure I can charm the receptionist into giving me their timetables" he said with the trademarked smirk. Donna tapped him on the arm and sat back down, gesturing for Hermione and Draco to sit down next to Stuart around the other side of the Coffey table.

"You are a sneaky bastard when you want to be" Kayleigh spoke for the first time, locking her phone and placing it on the arm of her chair before looking up at Malfoy and smirking. There were aspects of this family that was incredibly muggle and normally average but you could certainly tell that they were related to Narcissa and Draco.

"Dray, how's your mother holding up without Lucius?" Ryan asked boldly, confidence getting in the way of his consideration for the young Malfoy's feelings and the mention of his dead father.

"Fine" he said curtly but chuckled a little as a pillow hit Ryan's head from Kayleigh's direction.

"KAY! What the fuck was that for?" Ryan shouted in a whiny voice. Kayleigh scowled moodily at her younger brother. "Shut your face, you know why. Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat but I can see my boyfriend walking up the garden and I don't think he'd like to sit and talk to you lot anymore than I do" Kayleigh said with perfect Malfoy insolence as she stood up of the chair and opening the door to take her lanky boyfriend's hand and attempt to pull him out of the room and up the stairs.

Hermione was watching Malfoy's demeneor carefully as Kayleigh's boyfriend paused nervously. Malfoy looked around at the young boy and tried not to glare.

"Callum" Malfoy acknowledged stonily and Hermione had only seen him look at anyone with that much hate before; herself.

"Malfoy" she whispered, putting a hand on his arm discreetly so no one else could see.

"Get him out of here Kay" he growled and looked back at Hermione "I don't need you to stop me from killing him Granger" he hissed quietly so Donna and Stuart couldn't here. She scowled slightly but put on a fake smile.

"So what is it that you do Mrs Malfoy?" Hermione asked politely with a little more confidence than before.

Donna looked delighted with Hermione's offer to lighten the conversation and Ryan rolled his eyes, switching off as Donna explained about her muggle degree in graphic design at the local college and how she sometimes felt strange in a classroom full of nineteen year olds but also how she loved the challenge it gave her.

"Draco tells us you're muggleborn Miss Granger" Stuart said kindly, lighting up a muggle rolled up cigarette as he smiled. Donna clicked her tongue disapprovingly at her husband's use of tobacco around their guest but did not say anything.

Hermione gave her a reassuring smile to show that she did not mind then looked back at Stuart who was looking at her with a strange, unidentifiable look on his face.

"Yes sir. My parents are both muggles but I don't associate within the muggle world as much as I used to. I've been... otherwise engaged for the last few months" she informed slowly.

Stuart raised his eyebrows.

"You don't have to lie Hermione; we know you were captured by some thugs. Skeeter wrote about it in the prophet" the older man said as an uncomfortable silence fell upon them and Hermione felt sick all of a sudden and her throat closed up and her mouth went dry.

"Stuart" Malfoy hissed angrily and Hermione tried to blink back tears.

"May I use your bathroom?" she croaked quietly and Donna looked very upset with her husband.

"Of course dear" Donna replied, excusing her.

Hermione zoomed out of the room and ran up the stairs, going to the first door she could see and slamming it behind her as she collapsed down the door, hunching her legs up to her chin and breathing heavily as tears streamed down her face.

This was just the beginning. Wherever she went now, she would be reminded of her stupidity and how silly it was of her to enter that crack house alone when she was so famous. She was still in recovery for god's sake!

She heard Malfoy's footsteps coming up to the door and then his soft knock.

"Granger, open the door" he said once. His voice was stern and a little angry but it was gentle at the same time. She shook her head to herself "Fuck you Malfoy" she whimpered.

"Granger, if you don't open this door right now I will get Potter to apparate down here right now and pull you back to that pokey little flat of yours early" he threatened, his tone still slightly soft but more demanding and warning now. She knew he wasn't bluffing but he wouldn't ring Harry just yet; she could have put up a fight a bit longer however, she just didn't see the point in it. Malfoy would only blow the door in anyway.

She took a deep breath and stood up, turning to unlock the door.

As she opened it, he stepped in briskly and shut it behind him.

"Granger you're being silly. You're stronger than this; I know you are. The Granger I used to know would not fall apart at the mere mention of this. Pull yourself together; we're leaving now anyway before I end up hitting my obnoxious uncle. He really doesn't mean it you know but it's harder for him. He used to be more prejudiced than my father, he is trying. He's a good man really" Malfoy said to her as she leaned against the wall, wiping the tears away from her face.

"This is your family Malfoy; you hardly see them. You should stay. I'm just tired. I'll apparate back to the yacht and I'll try and drag Thomson out of bed for a bit or something. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself Malfoy" she said, seeing his face freeze at her suggestion.

He shook his head.

"I will not explain to Potter about how I lost you again. I'll come back and see them next week. I'm not accustomed to apparating that far but I'll be fine. We're leaving now. I can see Kelsie and Dea next week as well. Just get back down those stairs and walk out the door. I'll meet you out there okay?" he said, pointing to the door demandingly with that look on his face that said 'if you don't move I will drag you'.

She sighed in defeat and nodded, turning and walking down the stairs.

When back in the living room, Donna was already on her feet, trying to apologise. Hermione waved her off weakly and politely kissed her cheek before walking out of the house and leaning against the door frame, waiting for Malfoy.

* * *

><p>"THOMSON! You're driving me up the wall. Will you put the fucking pen down and go get some lunch?" Malfoy shouted, slamming his quill down on his desk and glaring at his temporary work partner.<p>

For three weeks they had been back and Malfoy was still being forced to work with Thomson. The young heir was not stupid; Thomson meant well but the man was infuriating. He thought he was superior and was boring as fuck.

To be honest, and Malfoy never in a million year thought he'd think this, but he just wanted Granger back. At least they got work done; they figured things out and were able to notice the little things as a pair. Malfoy had to do all the solving. He knew Hermione had a brilliant mind and he was well aware that he had a very observant mind himself and they had put more people in prison in their two years as partners than Mad-eye-moody had in his whole life time. They solved their cases fast and efficiently but this was the longest they'd ever been on anything and now attacks on random wizards; large shipments of drugs, and murders on a lot of muggle borns across the globe were becoming a lot more frequent. Malfoy had been pulled off the case and had been chasing after Hermione. He did not know that it would be so hard to get to her. He did not know it would be so hard to close this case.

There was nothing he could piece together properly, nothing that would hold his concentration span because there was no fire in what he was doing. No drive or momentary distraction. Just pure and utter silence. All he did was shuffle through notes and right down the things that caught his eye with no real belief that any of it would help.

They did not know the leader of any organisation or any of the people involved. They had no idea what they were up against or who would be the next target.

It was a daunting prospect and it was driving Draco mad.

"Thomson, Malfoy" a striking feminine English accent sounded from his doorway, his head snapping up as he nearly spilt his tea over him.

She was not conventionally sexy nor was she model like or stunning but she was beautiful.

She was tall; much taller than she had been before her capture, exactly six foot, the same as Malfoy. Her face was soft looking but much paler than previous and her elegant cheekbones were a bit more pronounced. Her previously bushy hair had grown out and was now tamed and long. It flowed about her collarbones and petite slender waist in soft, silky brunette tendrils. Her brown eyes were gentle but fiery at the same time, just like always. Now though, they had a hidden haunted look at their depths. Her body was womanlike and her waist and hips curved very slightly at the join to her long legs. She walked with a slight limp lately, invisible to the passing eye but to those who saw her frequently, it was obvious.

She was leant casually against the doorframe nonchalantly. She was wearing a white blouse tucked into a high wasted black pencil skirt that stopped just at the bottom of her thighs, about four centimetres up from her knees. On her feet were shiny black five inch stilettos. Her hair was down and sparkled in the bright lights emitting from the twenty candles they were working from, positioned around the room in just the right places to create a cosy feel but not too dark so that it strained their eyes.

"Granger what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be back until next Monday!" he growled, annoyed that the infuriating woman just could not follow instructions.

"I don't give a shit anymore Malfoy and you're about to kill Thomson and you have no leads so just let me work here. Thomson go back to your own office and forget this case. I'm back now, you may as well go back to the easy life" Hermione said with a relaxed grin.

Thomson seemed to glow at her appearance and smiled, standing up and gathering his things into a box on his neat desk and walking passed Hermione in a hurry as though he could not wait to get out of the office.

"Right, what's changed then?" she asked, backing into her old desk and shimmying her buttocks over the wood backwards so she was perched on it, staring at him, waiting for him to talk to her. Malfoy scowled "What do you think you're playing at Granger?" Malfoy asked heatedly.

"I've already told you; I'm over it, now can we please just get on with it?" she said impassively.

"You know, if Potter finds you in here he's going to blow his top" Malfoy said. She chuckled darkly and smirked "I already said, I don't give a shit now stop telling me off and tell me about these Egyptian Gangsters" she demanded.

He rolled his eyes but leant back in his chair.

"It was a false trail. Their typical criminals; prostitution, drug running and it stops there. We tailed everyone I came across while I was chasing your stupid arse and not one of them came up positive for murder. Every single one of them is in Azkaban. We followed the head of the whole thing for the whole time I was getting you; we thought it was Nada Abuakar but he was just a petty criminal. So then me and Thomson have been catching up since we got back to London; the attacks and murders have branched out. The latest being in Cannock, Staffordshire. I tracked down the muggle they killed and we found out she was a squib" he informed.

She nodded "COD?" she asked simply. Malfoy drew in a sharp breath "she was naked, she bled out but there was no sign of sexual assault. No bind marks, no signs of struggle at all. But... they wrote across her stomach with a knife" he said, looking sick as he blanched even further.

"What did they write?" Hermione asked quietly. Malfoy looked up at her slowly and sighed.

"filth"


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews good people ;) I wanted to talk more about Hermione's life away from work before she was captured in this chapter but I'm trying to keep the plot going for as long as I can. Anyway, let me know what you think! (curtain closes and lights go down)**

**Love Dee xxxxx  
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* * *

><p>"HERMIONE GRANGER, I HAVE A MIND TO SACK YOU!" Harry Potter shouted, bursting into Malfoy and Hermione's office to find them looking at a piece of paper, Hermione leaning over Malfoy as they spoke.<p>

However, their conversation was cut off with their boss's loud entrance and Hermione looked up simply, like she was not surprised to see an angry nineteen year old Harry Potter in their office in the slightest. Malfoy sighed and dropped his body to the back of his swivel chair and Hermione walked over to her own desk, settled herself down, leaned her elbows on the wood and threaded her fingers together before looking kindly up at her best friend.

"Mr Potter, how can we help you?" she asked softly and formally, nearly losing her straight face as she saw Malfoy's amused smirk out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't you dare 'Mr Potter' me Hermione. What the bloody hell do you think you're doing back here? You're still ill! You aren't supposed to be back until next week! I had to stop Ron coming down here and trying to hex Malfoy into oblivion for allowing this" Harry said exasperatedly, his robes a little dishevelled but he looked otherwise unflustered.

"Harry I cannot sit in that flat in Ron's t-shirt and a pair of knickers watching shit television all day. Are you stupid enough to think that I wasn't going to do this anyway? Didn't you already know I was going to visit my office at some point this week?" she put it to him, not faltering under the angry scare he was giving her. Hermione was Harry's best friend and sibling in everything but blood but at work, she tried to respect him as a superior. It was difficult when he was being annoying though.

"Hermione, you aren't well. Your leg is still healing and you're still in recovery. You need to go back to the flat" Harry said, his tone softening slightly as she swallowed and breathed out deeply. "No Harry, what I need is to work. I cannot sit on that sofa and think about how pathetic and stupid I was any longer okay? I need to work. And we have a possible flicker as well. It seems that attack in Cannock was planned. The woman; the older lady, she knew her attacker. There were no wards on her house, no sign of struggle, no bind marks or anything. Now, she was naked and the amounts of blood at the scene doesen't add up to the amount of blood she lost. Also, there was nothing at all to indicate that the lady took any of her clothes off willingly or unwillingly so that leads us to believe-"

"That she wasn't attacked at the scene but the killer knew where she lived because he dropped her off at her own house. But Hermione, the wounds were too fresh for her to have been bleeding for too long at any other scene" Harry continued her sentence, forgetting their previous argument and losing himself amongst the talk of the crime.

"I don't think the place she was killed at was very far from the house at all. I think we should look in her garden and as far as we can around the house. I also think we need to talk with her family again. Malfoy and I will go up to the midlands and talk to the vic's sister tomorrow. Can you organise for some Aurors to go back up to the crime scene tomorrow and take a look around? We'll drop in after lunch time. Get Neville leading the team, he's the best with the forensics" Hermione suggested with a small but weak smile.

Harry sighed at her refusal to go home but nodded and nodded to Malfoy once before turning on his heel and disappearing out of the door.

"Bastard" Hermione muttered, making Malfoy raise one eyebrow. "What?" she asked, looking at him as if she'd done nothing wrong. "I used to curse at him all the time and you nearly blew my office up and now you're the one slagging him off?" Malfoy said a quizzical look on his face.

"I love him but he is a bastard" she chuckled a little and flicked her legs up over her desk revealing a very shapely pair of long legs. Malfoy had to disguise a gulp and looked away for a second, absent mindedly loosening his tie.

"Granger shut your face and get back to looking through that list of convicts, I want to see any escapes from Azkaban since I was 'otherwise engaged' that could be related to the vic in any way" he said in a sharp voice, scowling as he looked back down at the list they'd been looking through before Potter had interrupted them. She rolled her eyes and went to fan out about a hundred or so pieces of paper ready for her examining.

This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy stumbled sleepily out of his fireplace and growled as he stumped his toe on the corner of his very expensive looking pine oak Coffey table. He threw his robe sideways onto the sofa casually and stripped his top of on his way up the stairs, leaving a line of clothes on the way to his bedroom as he eventually collapsed in his boxers on his large, four poster king size double bed.<p>

The floor was carpeted in a dark brown fluffy fabric and a very deep dark green rug sat in the top right corner of the room. The ceiling and walls were also painted a lush chocolate colour but held a very, very faint tint of a green floral pattern that could only be seen if you strained your eyes. The furniture was all antique, dark oak woods with intricate snakes running along the pans, carved neatly into the interior. There was one long mirror on the wall next to the window on the left side of his bed, about three meters away from it. The curtains pulled sideways by a sash were dark emerald and velvet and also had a faint pattern of snakes climbing up the soft silk fabric of the ropes holding them out of the way. A simple, tall dark oak wardrobe completed the look nicely and Malfoy was proud of his designing abilities when decorating his own house; even Granger had begrudgingly approved, muttering something about being bigheaded and ego revolved.

His itching, sore eyes began to droop slowly as he basked in the relaxation of finally being able to rest even if he knew he would not sleep very well as he was over tired. All he wanted was to get as much shut eye as he could before going up to the west midlands the next morning. He made a mental note to get him and his partner a decent healthy breakfast before they went anywhere. Hermione still wasn't eating properly. Malfoy made another mental note to shout at Weasley for not looking after her decently as well. His last thought before he finally did dose off was why did he even give a shit?

* * *

><p>Hermione groaned as she stood up from her desk, her back, shoulders, neck and head were all sore and aching terribly. Her brain pounded like the clip clop of a horses shoes across uneven concrete and it was annoying her to no end. She couldn't even be bothered to tidy up after herself as she was too tired. She simply waved her wand and ordered the mess of papers strewn across the floor and over their working area in alphabetical order and then flooed back to her's and Ron's flat.<p>

Since she had come back; things between her and her previous boyfriend Ron and been very tense. He was tiptoeing around her too much and was babying her. He just didn't know how to talk to her anymore. She used to find Ron's lack of social understanding, awkwardness and lack of tact cute and endearing but now she just found it infuriating. She didn't have the patience to deal with his questions and shiftiness anymore and it was just adding to her stress because now she was seriously considering dumping the boy. Yes, she thought of him as a boy because Ronald Weasley was not and never would be a man. He had a child's brain and maturity. Indeed, this was one of the things she had always loved the most about him; she just wasn't sure if it was the right kind of love for the relationship they were in anymore.

Harry had warned her of course, that things would be difficult and would most probably end badly between the two. He had reminded her of how different they were and how much they would argue and disagree over everything but she had not listened. She had been so sure that she'd fallen in love with Ron that she'd let it blind her judgement. She should have seen it coming really; it was inevitable. The two barely managed to keep their friendship going over the years let alone a romantic partnership and now they were arguing more than they ever had; now Hermione decided she'd had enough.

She was in recovery despite insisting on being back in work on the job and she was dreaming still. She woke up every night sweating and finding Ron looking at her with a very worried, sleepy expression on his puppy dog face that broke her heart. She wished with everything that she was that she could love him as much as she knew he loved her; the thing was, she was more attracted to Severus Snape than she was to Ron these days. She was perfectly aware that Ron was desired now amongst the women of the world because of his striking eyes and pale skin against orange freckles and very buff bulldog physique. She just didn't look at him like that.

And now she was too tired and too pissed off to deal with any more of his funny looks and random questions about her time in capture. The thing was; Ron was not an Auror and therefore had no access to any evidence or statements regarding the case of her disappearance. He had been part of the office for a little bit after they'd graduated until he'd been terribly injured during a mission when his partner had been killed and both his kneecaps had been crushed. Now the young man worked in the misuse of muggle artefacts office with his father and he hated it.

Malfoy had found it very funny though and had thanked the young witch for the laugh he'd had over the prospect of the failed Weasley son being exactly like his parents. Now they lived mostly on Hermione's income and she had come back to the flat they shared after they'd returned to London to find a very skinny Ron sleeping in a very messy bedroom unshaven and aching and mumbling about finding her in his sleep.

She saw what her disappearance had done to him and she knew he struggled to be without her. This made her even more reluctant to break up with him. She knew however that she could not put it off much longer as their arguments and silences were becoming much more frequent and they'd started throwing things at walls and leaving the flat for hours on end, leaving the other crying in guilt and anger.

Now all she wanted was to curl up in bed and sleep until she really had to get up in the morning and go to Cannock the following morning.

It was not that simple.

Ron was waiting up for her just like she expected him to be and he was looking angry.

"Will you ring me when you're going to be late home? I hate not knowing where you are" he exclaimed in a bitter, sulky voice that made her cringe.

"Ron I told Harry to ring you and tell you I couldn't pull out. Malfoy needs me, we're getting somewhere" she said, trying to keep her tone emotionless as she lied through her teeth.

"No you didn't, I went to the office. Harry wasn't even there" he snapped at her, standing up to her height.

"I told him to ring you" she repeated simply and tried to walk passed him to their bedroom. She felt his strong hand clasp painfully onto her elbow and pull her back around to face him. She winced, feeling his fingers pressing down on the sensitive spot where the needles had been forced into her skin.

"Let. Me. Go" she hissed slowly, trying to yank her arm out of his hold but he refused to release her.

"Ron you're hurting me, let go" she said slowly, gritting her teeth together in pain. He looked fiercely into her eyes.

"Malfoy doesn't need you; I need you" he whispered, his alcohol laced breath fanning across her face. "The case needs me more than either of you and right now that is my first priority. Stop being so selfish Ronald. Let me go, I'm tired and I haven't taken my potion" she warned again, making another feeble attempt to escape his grip. He grabbed her tighter and she whimpered.

"Do you want me to call Harry? I think not Ron now let me go to bed. Don't bother following, I want you to sleep on the sofa until we can figure this out tomorrow night" she said but his grip tightened even more and she could feel the blood circulation in her arm slowing down.

"You don't get to tell me what to do Hermione. You left me; you left me and now it feels like you're still missing. I can see you here stood in front of me, I can feel you shaking but you still aren't _here_" he said, his voice crackling.

She could not comprehend words for a few seconds as the truth of his liquor fuelled words sunk in. She was making him suffer. Just by being there, he was falling apart faster than she was and she needed to do it now, she needed to end the whole thing right now.

"Ron, I'm going up to the bedroom. Tomorrow, I'll be gone and unless you decide otherwise, you never have to see me ever again. There you go, problem sorted. Now I really won't be _here_" she said, a single tear falling down her face as she sent a shot of her magic to the spot he was holding on to and a crack was released into the vibrations of the room. He let go immediately, clutching his hand and hunching over in pain.

"Ron, I love you. You're my brother but ever try to manhandle me again and I'll rip your hand off" she said, trying to keep her voice level as she turned and walked briskly out of the room, across the hallway and into their bedroom.

She waved her wand and the cabinets opened. Her clothes came flying gracefully out of the cupboards and folded themselves on her bed. She reached behind her and locked the door magically, putting up some small wards so he could not get in while she packed.

She shakily walked over to the bed and fumbled, trying to put the clothes and essentials into a large gym bag she'd owned as a child. She quickly changed into a pair of comfy jeans and Malfoy's hoodie she'd worn while on their travels. She stepped into an ankle length pair of fluffy black uggs and pulled all her hair back into a very long, high ponytail. She took her phone out of her blazer pocket from work and flipped it open, deleting her messages as he scurried around the room and the en-suit gathering her things together and throwing them into the bag as she tried to pull her stray thoughts together.

She eventually finished packing and zipped the bag up, throwing it over her still bruised shoulder and collar bone with a slight grunt. She went slowly over to the open window of their bedroom and pressed her face momentarily against the cool, rain sprayed glass as she looked down on the dark night's street.

Then she felt it again, just like at mount wise.

The eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again for those reviews. You guys are awesome ;) So I wanted to bring up this murder in more detail in this chapter and the next one I write as well. I've decided who my bad guy is now! But if I told you who I'm planning it to be, I'd have to kill you and then there would be no one to review and that would be no fun. Anyway, Hope you like it!**

**Dee xxxx**

"Shit Granger, you look awful" Malfoy commented as they met in their office in the morning, Malfoy was in the middle of unhooking his black tailored overcoat. Hermione had teased him about that and said that he looked like a skinnier better looking version of Garry Barlow. He hadn't talked to her properly for the whole day though and she had learnt to humour him when he was pissed off with her; in fact, she found it rather cute.

"You would too Malfoy if you'd slept in a two star hotel with a bath covered in lime scale and shit and a bed that isn't even worthy of a muggle tramp" she snapped, pulling her robes around her tighter and swallowing hard like she had a horrible taste in her mouth. Malfoy's eyes widened for a second and then his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why didn't you just go back to your flat? I mean, it isn't much better than the lime scaled shitty bath but it is a little bit of an improvement" he asked, looking her thin frame up and down again. Hermione could have sworn she saw a flash of concern in his eyes but whatever it was, he disguised it quickly though and she had to resist rolling her sore, puffy eyes as he slipped the coat on.

She noticed that the light colour grey really suited him and made him look a little like a model you'd see in the muggle fashion magazines. She was pulled out of her train of thought though by two fingers snapping together in front of her face.

"Granger I know I am abnormally good-looking but would you please refrain from gawping at me; the look doesn't look too good on you when you're tired and I believe you were about to tell me about the latest fight you and Weasley have had" he commented. This time she really did roll her eyes.

"You're nothing special Malfoy. And he was drunk again, I'd just had enough. Last night was the last straw so I just left" she said in a slightly quivery voice.

He raised his eyebrows again for a split second but after a bit, he broke into a slow, graceful clap.

She narrowed her eyes at him and growled.

"Malfoy I just had the most awful night of my life and now you're getting enjoyment out of it!" she exclaimed. He stopped clapping immediately and narrowed his eyes as well "Granger you've had worse nights I'm sure. As for the clapping, I was being deadly serious. You finally came to your senses after ten years and I thought you deserved a round of applause so don't get cocky, at least IO didn't pretend to love you and then treat you like shit; I was always honest about my hate for you" he said, pushing passed her and standing in the doorway impatiently like he hadn't just totally insulted her; which, technically he hadn't. Hermione was just in an overdramatic mood.

He gestured for her to move but it took her a few seconds to register what he was doing.

"Well move your arse then Granger. If it means that much to you, I'll get us a five star hotel tonight, we're going to have to stay in Cannock for a couple of days anyway. Potter called me this morning, Longbottom's overseeing the forensic team but we've officially been put back in charge of the investigation. Now MOVE!" he said but she clicked her fingers, wandlessly making the door closed as Malfoy became even more impatient with her.

"What the bloody fuck now Granger?" he growled. She scowled at him.

"I want your advice on something if you must be such a dickwad" she said, equally sharp. "What then?" he asked again, his tone a little lower. She sighed "Do you remember mount wise? Well, did you... did you feel someone watching us?" she asked.

This got his attention and he leaned back against his desk, looking at her strangely. After a couple of seconds, he nodded.

"I thought you'd feel it as well. Very well then Granger, what do you think you're onto?" he asked again; questions after fucking questions.

"I felt it again last night just before I left the flat. I stood at the window in our bedroom and I couldn't see anything but I felt it again. Like someone was watching me really intensely from outside in the street" she explained carefully as he studied her carefully.

This was the thing with Malfoy, she trusted him to look at her and she never felt under scrutiny.

"Granger what are you saying? Do you think we're being stalked or something?" he said matter-of-factly. "My senses aren't as attuned as yours but I think, for some weird reason and this is totally on instinct, that it's linked to these attacks" she answered him in a quieter tone. She knew he would listen to though and that he would consider her opinion without totally dismissing it.

"Your instincts are sensitive at the moment Granger, you're totally exposed to all your emotions and you don't know what you're feeling from one moment to the next. But I do think that this instinct is based on a little reality. I'll see Potter about some protection for you after we come back from Cannock, until then it doesn't matter because I'm not letting you wonder off without me again. I don't want Potter on my case for another load of months while I chase you up to Egypt all over again" he said, his tone respectful and level.

"I don't want protection; I want you to take me seriously. I'm sure about this Malfoy; I genuinely think the person watching us is involved"

"So do I Granger, I never said I wasn't taking you seriously but I still think now you've actually used your infuriatingly brilliant brain and left your prick of a fiancé, you should have someone making sure you're okay" he said in a serious voice. She sighed.

"Why don't I set up a permanent patronus to come and see you every three hours if I'm okay? We'll be together most of the time anyway" she suggested. Malfoy raised his eyebrows yet again.

"Can you even do that Granger; it sounds like quite complicated magic to me. And I'm not too keen on the idea of an otter waking me up every three hours during the night?" he said. She rolled her eyes again "Don't pretend you get more than three hours sleep a night Malfoy" she said, smirking and turned on her heel, obviously expecting him to follow her to the ministries long distance apparating point.

It had a calming atmosphere charm created by Hermione placed around it that soothed the traveller enough to travel long distance without splinching themselves. But she was topped before she could even get there by a strong arm wrapping around the left side of her waist and pulling her around to walk the other way. The arm let go when Malfoy was sure she wasn't going to turn back around and apparate to Cannock; not even a calming charm could get her happy enough to teleport without hurting herself at the moment.

"Malfoy what are you doing?" she asked in a slightly whiny tone. He stopped their walk for a second and looked at her, ignoring several colleagues rushing passed with sheets of paper flying out of their hands.

"You just can't apparate when you're like that Granger; I'm driving us up there" he informed, putting a hand on her back and starting up their fast walk again.

"But Malfoy it's a three hour drive"

"Not in my car it isn't"

"That's because your car is a death trap"

* * *

><p>One and a half hours later and they were streaming fast down the M5 in Malfoy's plush, jet black Ferrari Enzo. Malfoy drove like a maniac but since they'd settled on a straight ahead road, Hermione had been able to relax amongst the shiny and extremely comfortable low leather seats. The scene was silent apart from the pitter patter of transparent drops of rain hitting the windshield and the roar of the motorway in the distance. The silences between them had long since seized to be awkward and now she enjoyed just sitting, watching the blur of other cars as they zoomed past and she let the slow sound of Malfoy's steady breathing soothe her own fast beating, bleeding heart.<p>

Everything she did reminded her of her awful decision of the night before. How could she leave Ron? How could she do that to him? But a small voice in the back of her head whispered the truth. She'd done the right thing, saved him from further pain. She hoped he wouldn't hate her. She wished with everything that she was that she could just fall in love with him again. She remembered being in love with Ron. It was new and fresh and made her see everything in a brighter light. He was the epitome of happiness and teenage freedom and mirth. In fact, Ron was like Sirius in a little way. She almost smirked as she thought of Ron being like Peter Pan but somehow she just couldn't imagine Ron in a green leotard.

"Granger did you want to stop at some point?" Malfoy asked his voice quiet for he didn't need to speak up as their predicament was peaceful and hushed for the minute. She looked sideways at him and smiled slightly "No thank you" she breathed.

If there was one thing that was good about her life at the moment and she knew would stay good; it was Malfoy.

He was not even her friend and they had no relationship outside of work and regulations but he was solid and reliable and safe and he made sure that she wasn't too broken or upset. He wouldn't allow her to be weak but he would not be inconsiderate and he understood that she was just a human who made mistakes and tried to deal with them.

Hermione had never imagined that being an adult could be so hard. She had always thought that the war had forced her to have to grow up; she saw now that it was the understatement of the century. Being grown up was not about how many people you'd killed or accepting responsibility for other people's lives. It was about making mistakes and only learning from them after you'd made them three or four times. It was pulling yourself out of bed every morning for work no matter how truly shit you feel. It was moving house and making decisions that were scary and frightening but exiting at the same time. It was learning to find a balance between selfish and selfless and using your initiative. It was getting over childish traits and putting aside your own views to get something amazing out of everything you did. It was growing up and being a woman and it was painful and long winded and hard but it was her life and she loved it.

She closed her eyes with no intention of falling asleep, basking in the peaceful simplicity of where she was at that moment; driving ridiculously fast up the motorway with Draco Malfoy ready to solve murders, how very clichéd.

* * *

><p>Ron sat in the flat half awake, eyes drooping. Something wasn't right; Hermione was normally back by now, she would have let off steam by now.<p>

Unless... unless she had been serious about leaving him. Unless she really didn't love him anymore and she really wasn't happy here. He realised that he'd known that already though. He'd known she wasn't happy even before she'd been taken. All they seemed to do was argue and make up and then argue some more. They never had sex anymore and they weren't intimate or affectionate. They simply lived together for the sake of it, because it was all they knew.

They had lived together before though. Admittedly, Harry was there but even then it had proved to be difficult and a huge strain on their friendship even then. What friendship? Did one even exist between the two war heroes anymore? Did _he_ love _her_ anymore? He did. He really, truly did. But something in him was screaming that he just wasn't _in_ love with her anymore. He was... wasn't he? If he wasn't then what had the last two years been for? He had been so sure back then, so certain that she was everything that he wanted in life. She wasn't now.

She'd left him hadn't she? She had gone and let him fend for himself.

The problem was the prospect of finally having to look after himself was more painful and scary than losing her.

* * *

><p>Harry Potter paced in his office, occasionally running his hands through his messy jet black hair. It was a little wet from the rain outside in busy muggle London. Hermione was not doing what she was told; she wasn't supposed to be travelling up to Cannock, she was supposed to be cuddled up to Ron at their flat in her overly large hoodie and watching trashy movies.<p>

She wasn't supposed to be with Malfoy halfway up the M5, she was supposed to be at home sorting things out after another argument with the stubborn redhead.

Harry knew she wasn't coming back though; at least not to Ron and their romantic relationship. Hermione was different now. She looked the same and acted the same but she looked haunted. Of course, Harry looked like that most of the time as well and he knew the cause of it. History.

He knew she'd get over it because she was strong. Ron was more stubborn however and felt it easier to grip onto the past because, when it comes down to it, it's the only thing you really truly know is real.

The future was undecided and frightening.

Harry had warned her though; he had told her not to go into the relationship with Ron. That she'd be wasting a lot of time feeling trapped when she realised it was just a childish infatuation. Then who was he to criticise? Ginny was his childhood sweetheart. He'd seen it himself though; true love and he knew he felt it for his wife.

Things like that though, they took time and patience. You had to give yourself time to fall in love and just enjoy no commitment for a little while. He and Ginny had dated all through her sixth year and for a year after the war before even contemplating just moving in with each other. He had his life back and he wanted to do everything properly.

However, he knew he needed to inform Ron of Hermione and Malfoy's trip sooner or later before his hot-headed best friend came bursting into the ministry half cut and brandishing his wand in front of the press causing a scene.

Harry sighed tiredly and threw himself down at his desk, calling his new owl Jessie to take a letter explaining Hermione's absence in sorting out their tiff to Ron.

* * *

><p>"Nev!" Hermione squealed and ran happily at her old friend who chuckled when she slammed her body against his, pulling him into a tight hug.<p>

"She's a little over sensitive today" Malfoy mouthed to a confused looking Neville who was looking at him quizzically over Hermione's shoulder. The shorter man nodded understandably and hugged her back just as eagerly.

"Morning" Neville said in a sarcastic but friendly voice and she laughed at herself as she pulled away to go and stand back next to Malfoy.

"Draco and I will be around for most of the day. We're going to go and get some breakfast and then head up to Great Wyrley to speak to the ladies sister but we'll come back to check on things in about two hours. If you find something, ring me" she said, a smile gracing her full lips. Malfoy nearly smiled himself; it was good to see her not crying or staring blankly ahead of herself. Part of him wondered whether it was because she was in a different city and finally free of the loveless relationship she'd been trapped in for two years.

"Come on then Granger, I haven't got a-" he cut off, looking around swiftly. The street was quiet and cold, the early morning mist still not completely gone from the frosty tree tops.

"Malfoy?" she asked, sounding concerned and a little frightened all of a sudden.

The young heir shook his head a little and looked back at her.

"It's nothing Granger. Longbottom, keep an eye out and make sure you have your wand on you, we'll be back in a couple of hours make sure your team are careful, document everything. Granger, get in the car" he ordered briskly.

She narrowed her eyes "You don't get to boss me abou-" "Shut the fuck up and get in the car Granger" he snapped, getting a venomous glare from Neville.

Hermione however, knew Malfoy would have shouted had he really been pissed off. He wasn't annoyed with her. No... Something else was bothering him. She had a strong urge to find out what it was and she had a suspicion that he would tell her when they were safely in the car. So, she glared at him once again, leaned forward to kiss Neville on the cheek and then turned away, walking around the other side of the very expensive looking car and stepped down into it.

Malfoy copied her in a fast, brisk walk and slammed the car door shut behind him; shoving the key in the ignition and starting the car up in an angry, hurried but collected state. She waited until they were back on the main road and were driving around a roundabout by a carvery before turning to him.

"Malfoy, slow down. What was that?" she asked him in a guarded voice. He scowled at her but opened his mouth to speak all the same.

"Whatever you felt last night, whoever's been watching us has followed us up here" he said in a slightly bitter tone. She gasped "The fast car... you were trying to throw them off us. You did take me seriously" she whispered slowly. He nodded curtly and stared ahead, slamming down the gear as he turned.

She sat there for a few seconds in shock as she contemplated what was happening to them.

"Granger I always take you seriously you should know that by now. If I didn't, I have a feeling I'd be missing both my testicals by now" he said, his tone still irritated and she could tell he was a little on edge.

"Malfoy can we speak to Barbra and Michael first, I want to get it over and done with" she asked. He simply nodded and twisted the car to turn the corner and go up a road that looked quite long. He had to drive all the way up and then turn back in himself because the victim's sister's house was on the other side of the road.

They eventually parked up and both held their wands under their cloaks as they walked up the steps to a dark blue door. Malfoy knocked simply and a tall woman in her mid fifties answered with a very unhinged happy grin that nearly made Hermione shiver.

"Good morning Cocka!" the woman shrieked loudly and moved aside to let them through the door. The house was very warm and cosy. Very typical of a middle age couple, thimble collections hung on the walls and rugs were placed everywhere.

"Barbra Dutton? I'm Hermione Granger and this is my work partner Draco Malfoy. We've come to ask you a few questions about your sister; Rosemary"

"I've already told you people everything" she said in her high pitched voice, her short hair seemed to stand on end as she spoke.

"Well, we're the top pair in the department and have recently been abroad on a case in Egypt. We just thought we'd come to offer our condolences and to ask out own questions. You're a witch I trust?" Hermione asked. Barbra simply nodded again and gestured for them to sit down on the pale blue sofas of her living room.

"Your husband works at the local pub am I right?" Hermione asked randomly, making Barbra frown.

"Yes cock, I tried to get him to quit but he won't. It gives him a beer belly, course, he likes the talking with his besties doesn't he?" Barbra babbled madly, pouring them tea over her Coffey table.

"Did he mention anything strange these last few days; did he fall out with anyone while he was drunk?" Malfoy asked, looking annoyed. Hermione knew he hated people like Barbra; people who were too over the top.

"No Duck, everything was pretty normal to me. We all get along around here you see and that man hasn't touched his wand in three years. Says it tempts fate" she said, babbling on again.

"Mrs Dutton do you think Rosemary had any enemies or people that might want revenge on her?" Hermione asked. Barbra smiled "PING! Already answered that one the other day. No, everyone loved her as much as I did. Aren't you supposed to be 'the best in the department'? so you should've studied my statement more carefully" Barbra snapped.

Malfoy and Hermione looked at each other, concern etched in both their faces.

"Mrs Dutton, do you think that the next door neighbour... Len? Was he friendly with your sister?" Hermione asked, keeping her flow of questions going as much as she could. They both inquired their own puzzles over the hours they spent talking to Barbra but neither could concentrate properly, both were waiting to get back to the car.

When they both finally collapsed into their seats and looked around the car for any signs of intruders, Malfoy looked at her strangely and then spoke.

"There was no mention in the statement of anyone asking about Rosemary's enemies, Someone tampered with the statement"


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! **

**Sorry for the wait, I'm just starting to get over a murder of a hangover. I will never, ever drink again! (Not likely ;D) Anyway, I'm going to try and make this as good as possible in apology for my reckless drinking habits ;)**

**Enjoy. AND REVIEW! (No pressure or anything :L) **

**Dee xxx**

"I just got off the phone to Harry, he isn't happy. And he started lecturing me about Ron so I put the phone down on him then he rang me back and threatened to sack me again if I keep disrespecting him at work" Hermione groaned, coming back from the toilets at the carvery they'd just ate at. Both were full and ready to get back on the case.

"Disrespect my arse, I have my hair jinxed red every time I insult the guy; you respect him more than anyone in the whole office" Malfoy said, rolling his eyes. She raised her eyebrows in agreement and gestured for him to stand up so they could get back to Neville.

However, before any of them had got anywhere near the door, Hermione's phone started ringing. Immediately she answered, looking a little healthier than she had that morning.

"Hermione you'd better get down here quick. One of the team went to ask number five if we could take a look around the garden but we didn't get any answer so I got called up. The car was in the drive, all the lights were on and the back door was wide open... Mione, we found a body"

She gasped slightly, catching Malfoy's attention.

"Do we have an ID?" she asked slowly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Mione... it's... its Cho Chang"

* * *

><p>"Harry..."<p>

"Yes Ginny?"

"I love you"

"Love you too"

* * *

><p>"Harry is so upset" Hermione said, her voice wavering as she sat down on the nearest chair in the hotel room Malfoy had booked them for that night. Malfoy was already halfway to his bedroom pulling his top off as he went.<p>

She buried her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her thighs, ignoring the stinging tears arising in her eyes.

"Granger, you're shattered. Go to bed and we'll see what we can do in the morning. Longbottom's going to be at the scene with his team all night. I'll call him when I wake up and if they've found anything I'll wake you" he said, peeking around the door and seeing her back shaking as she cried into her hands. He came back out into the room, still topless and sat down on the sofa next to her.

"Granger this is messed up. I know it is but you've got to be professional about this. Remember you have a job to do and doing your duty is the only way you can help Chang now" he said in a strong but tired tone. He didn't dare reach out and touch her because he knew she hated people touching her when she was upset.

To be perfectly honest, so was he. Inside, he was hurting. Of course, he was no stranger to hurt considering the position he'd played in the war. This though... this was out of his depth and he was not used to being so caught off guard with pain. He could always predict it, see it coming and prepare himself for the hit so he could act it out as though he was not bothered. But this thing with Cho had forced his guts into his mouth and he was not totally aware of what exactly it was he was feeling. He had loved her at one point... he had loved her.

Maybe he wasn't in love with her anymore but stuff like that still stung. Everything was blurred. When she was alive at least he knew that he could see her whenever he felt like it. Now... well, now she was dead.

"Malfoy I don't understand how you can be so calm about this! You dated her!" she exclaimed, standing up and throwing her hand in the air in frustration. Her face was tracked with tears which she wiped away impatiently.

"You think I'm calm? I thought you knew me better than that Granger. What did you do when Krum died?" He snapped, standing up as well.

"Stay up and cry yourself stupid Granger but I don't want to be working with a corpse tomorrow so for the love of god, would you please just go to fucking bed?" he spat angrily and turned on his heel, going back to his bedroom and slamming the door.

She winced at the sound.

Pfft! So much for Malfoy being the only good thing in her life! If this is what good was then she really was going on a downhill slope for disaster.

She was angry; angry that someone as beautiful and funny and intelligent as Cho could be killed so easily. Angry that she wasn't taking proper control of her own life and angry at Malfoy for making her trust him.

She knew he was right of course, that infuriatingly handsome man always bloody was; even the god damned books told people that (biographies and articles all written by Skeeter).

But she did not in a million years think that she would end up here in a hotel with Malfoy as one of her only decent friends... he was a friend now wasn't he? They saw each other outside of work occasionally and they talked about random subjects and their views. She was pretty sure, after everything the pair had been through together, that she cared about him. Of course she did, how could she not? He had saved her life on a number of occasions and he had turned into a good man. He was still a moody bastard who thought the whole world was against him and he was stoic; gobby, ignorant and insolent. He was and would always be a Malfoy. But he was a good man.

It was this that made her retire to her bedroom after taking a large dose of dreamless sleep potion and performed the spell needed daily to help the healing of her once shattered knee cap. She laid back on her pillow dressed in Malfoy's green hoodie and a pair of knickers as the silk sheets engulfed her into a warm cave filled with promises of sleep and rest.

* * *

><p>"Granger shut up will you and get in the damned car!" he shouted loudly, getting dirty looks from passersby and people exiting the posh muggle hotel they'd just slept in. She scowled and threw Malfoy a look of utmost distaste while getting in the car and muttering "Chauvinistic pig".<p>

"Alright, you're going to be a moody bitch today. Fucking brilliant!" he breathed, taking one last look around them to check that no one was following them again and followed her into the cold morning leather seats.

"Malfoy I am not being a moody bitch but you just made it look like I couldn't afford to pay for our room in front of the most well-off hotel owner in the west midlands" she retorted in a whiny voice.

"Granger it isn't even nine o'clock yet and I already have a headache! You're going to give me wrinkles and grey hair" he said, turning the engine on and switching the heating up to full blast.

"I thought you already had wrinkles and Merlin Malfoy! Are you trying to suffocate me with that air con?" she moaned.

"Do I get to keep my dick if I tell you that I _was_ trying to suffocate you?" he asked, a smirk playing at his perfectly sculpted lips.

She scowled again, more playfully this time. "I won't even justify that question with an answer. Shut up and drive" she said, trying to keep a straight face as he chuckled a little and pressed his foot down on the accelerator, making the car jerk forward violently and Hermione screamed.

"You want to drive Granger? Lets drive!" he said, the smirk turning into an evil grin as he practically threw the car out of the car park and laughed his head off at her ranting very loudly about his maniac driving. Merlin, how Weasley ever imagined himself married to this insufferable woman he had no idea, Weasley would never be able to handle her properly.

No, Malfoy knew Granger appeared to be all goody and bookwormy on the surface but people like her longed to be free to do what they really wanted; people like Granger needed people like him as friends.

"DRACO ABRAXAS MALFOY WILL YOU SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!" she finally shrieked as he swerved between cars all the way up the freeway where they were headed back to the scene of the crime.

He let out one single bark of laughter before falling back into the slow stance of the traffic; joining sweaty morning drivers that were still half awake and were beeping their horns whilst calling each other all the names under the sun.

"Alright there Granger?" he said in a sarcastic tone, the grin still plastered on his face as he took in her reddened face and heaving chest as she tried to get her breathing back to normal.

"One of these days..." she hissed venomously but he saw the spark of mirth in her chocolate brown eyes. He simply rolled his eyes at her and averted them back to the road. She sighed slowly when she was sure he was driving normally again and looked out the window, ignoring the wetness of tears lingering silently in her eyes wherever she was.

She had been so surprised when she had woken and found Malfoy looking very tired and she could have sworn tear tracks could be seen hidden a little on his soft, pale skin. She had been wrong; Malfoy was just as upset as Harry.

"How did you do it?" she almost jumped as his sharp, stoic voice hit her eardrums and shocked her by how much emotion the single sentence carried.

She knew what the small question was in reference to of course; he was inquiring as to how she had dealt with the death of Krum, her ex-boyfriend.

She didn't look at him and she kept her eyes frozen on the road flickering passed her window but she felt her hand moving of its own accord and slipping into his. Something moved at the bottom of her stomach and the surprising warmness of his cold looking skin basked her in a sense of security or at least respect and equality which was extremely rare for Malfoy.

"You let it ride out. You feel all the shit emotions and then you slowly arrange everything into categories and you gain control again. Ron was bitter actually. I think he wondered whether I'd be so messed up if it was him that died. I was different though; I was never in love with Krum. I remember Zabini laughing at me and saying I was so fucked up in the head because I didn't have a factual answer; there isn't a book telling you how to nurse a broken heart" she explained just as emotionlessly as his previous tone. She knew he appreciated her withdrawn behaviour because he hated anything that made him weak or anything soppy.

He chuckled darkly, his hand moving on the wheel as they turned a corner.

"I bet he was right though wasn't he Granger?" Malfoy said. She was surprised yet again to find herself smiling a little "I'm not afraid to admit it, he was. I am used to having an answer for everything or being able to find it on paper; I wasn't expecting to find myself completely clueless" she replied.

He smiled to himself "I would love to have seen your face when you realised that you had to start using your instinct. Tell me Granger, are you really saying that it was a Slytherin that made you change your view on life? Zabini will be extremely amused to hear of that" he laughed slightly bitterly but Hermione noticed something; the young blonde had not let go of her hand yet.

"I'm sure he bloody well will. I'm not surprised you two are like brothers; you're both total arseholes. Nevertheless, I must say Blaise is much better looking as an adult" she commented with a cheeky smirk.

Malfoy had to swallow to stop himself from scowling all of a sudden... why was that?

"I can't say I've really noticed. But then again Granger, if you've noticed, I'm sure you already got the poor bastard into bed. You seem to be making a habit of making men fall at your feet"

"Malfoy don't ever accuse me of being unfaithful! I may not be in love with Ronald anymore but I wouldn't hurt him intentionally and Blaise is a sleazebag anyway. I'm not interested in anything serious with anyone obviously but I will not be used like some skinny arse muggle hooker and I know that's all I would be if I were to fuck Zabini. No, I wouldn't touch him with... well anything" she said, starting off in a shout but finishing in a chuckle.

Malfoy remained composed throughout her whole rant and even smirked at the end of her last sentence; he felt relieved for some reason.

He didn't have any time to dwell on it though as he slipped the racing car into Princess Street and immediately sensed magical charms around Chang's house, closing the muggles out.

"Shit" he whispered to himself; never in a million years had he ever thought he'd be investigating the scene of Cho Chang's murder.

He felt Hermione's hand leaving his as she slowly clicked her seatbelt and opened the door. He however suddenly found himself unable to move.

He jumped when his door opened and his eyes flickered sideways to someone's hand. He knew who it was of course and he was not hesitant in ignoring the hand as he managed to pull himself together and step out of the car by himself.

She was not offended when he refused to take her hand; she never expected him to take it. She offered it anyway though and she knew he appreciated it... silently.

"Let's just get this over with Granger" he said strongly, putting a hand on her slender back so she would moved forwards and up a normal looking drive.

The door was open and they stepped inside when they heard voices. The living room was total chaos and Hermione nearly turned right back around to throw up. She resisted though and took a very shaky step forward to have someone slam into her and wrap their arms tightly around her.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked her voice full of mixed and confusing emotions but laced mostly with shock.

"There aren't enough Aurors; they're all on that case up in Egypt. Harry wanted me here so I'm filling in for Zabini. Shit Hermione I this is all so messed up" Ginny blurted out in a hushed voice against Hermione's ear as the brunette relaxed and hugged her friend back.

Ginny noticed Malfoy staring blankly at the wall behind the embracing girls.

"Hermione" Ginny whispered, pulling away and looking at Malfoy with a worried look on her face.

"Its fine" Hermione said quietly and grabbed Malfoy's elbow to pull him forwards but he yanked it away from her and strode forwards to examine the blood on the wall more carefully.

"What does it say? I just got here" Ginny asked, watching Malfoy with sadness and slight fascination.

"It's in Latin isn't it Malfoy?" Hermione asked, recognising the script a little but she was unable to read the language itself.

"Ten points to Gryffindor" he muttered to himself, tracing his fingers over the words without actually touching it.

She rolled her eyes.

"What does it say?" Ginny asked again impatiently, not missing the apparent spark of 'charisma' between the two stubborn work partners; Hermione was supposed to be still upset about Ron and yet she did not look totally crushed.

"Palma Meretricis. It means... Glory whore" a voice from the other doorway leading to the kitchen landed upon their hearing and made Ginny gasp and Hermione whimpered, a tear falling silently down her face. Hermione looked back at Malfoy for confirmation and he nodded once, leaving the room to explore the upstairs bedroom.

The stench of death and broken purity burned through Hermione's nostrils and clouded her vision slightly. She realised why when she looked back at the front door and watched a white bag being manoeuvred out of the house as the pop of its apparition struck violently at Hermione's heart.

"Would you excuse me; I'll be back shortly" she breathed, unable to look at Harry's closed off and fiercely composed face as he held Ginny briefly.

"Granger I'm at the Walsall office later, I want to see you and Malfoy there at 9:00 tonight on the dot; no later" he said sharply over Ginny's shoulder.

"Yes Mr Potter" Hermione replied with a sigh; Harry was always a bastard when he was upset.

She trudged slowly up the thin staircase papered with a faint light blue floral pattern. The closer she got to the place of Cho's death, the worse the smell got as the dark magic surrounding the linger of Crucio and Avada Kedavra stained Co2 flew threw her veins as she inhaled and her heart thumped wildly.

"Any prints?" she heard an icy, overly professional voice cut through the atmosphere to her ears.

She followed it to the closest bedroom and felt Malfoy's presence before she saw him; he was in great pain.

"What did you notice in the living room?" Hermione asked immediately as she pulled her eyes away from the blinding pool of red blood in the middle of the cream carpet.

"What did _you_?" he snapped as he carried on examining the room, the conflict never leaving his eyes.

"No locks broken, no sign of struggle... the small thermometer in the corner of the room on the floor was charmed to stay at 29 degrees but there was no muggle central heating on. I bagged it when Ginny was looking at you and there's a sticking charm on the liquid inside that's about 23 hours old. Cho was killed just after this charm was casted..."

"So you think Chang left us a clue? Granger... I don't know much of muggle science but when there are more people in a room, the room temp go's up right?" Malfoy said, the conflicted look turning thoughtful.

She smirked darkly.

"She was telling us that the killer had an accomplice"


	8. Chapter 8

"And you're absolutely sure about this?" Harry James Potter asked Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy as they both sat on the other side of his temporary desk as he ran his fingers through his jet black hair.

"Yeah, we had Neville run it through at the lab and the charm was cast three minutes before her heart stopped beating; it was designed to freeze at the temp we found it at. We got it confirmed that there were two people in the house with Cho at the time she died. The killer had an accomplice. We found some DNA on three glasses on a table in the kitchen and one of the intruders matched with the prints we found at the other scene up the road; the deaths were related and the handwriting on Cho's wall was a positive match to the writing on Rosemary's chest. There's something different about this compared to the other murders though; there's too much evidence. The killer's are becoming reckless" Hermione explained, never breaking eye contact with Harry as she presented their findings.

"Maybe they are having butterfingers but all this DNA means nothing; we don't have it on our system so we don't have any suspects" Harry said stonily and she could tell he was still upset after seeing what was written on the wall at Cho's house.

Malfoy smirked slightly, stealing a small sideways glance at Hermione before looking back at Potter "You could say that Potter but we do have something that makes it easier. The DNA isn't a direct match to anyone on our system but it is extremely similar to an ex-convict we have on there" Malfoy said, his smirk growing a bit bigger as Potter's eyes widened slightly.

"A relative?" Harry asked, sitting up in his chair and looking much more interested all of a sudden.

"The killer's son to be precise"

"Who is the killer's son?" Harry asked almost impatiently, looking from Malfoy to Hermione expectantly.

Hermione suddenly looked frightened and apprehensive. "Harry-" "HERMIONE! Tell me who it is, I don't have all day"

"Calm yourself Potter" Malfoy advised in a slightly snappy voice.

Harry just glared venomously at Hermione, still expecting her to tell him who it was.

"Potter, what you have to unders-" "MALFOY!" Harry warned loudly and then Hermione just blurted it out.

"Sirius Black"

* * *

><p>"Ginny keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid" Hermione said sadly, breaking away from the hug and smiling weakly before turning and walking out to Malfoy who was already sat in his car.<p>

"Malfoy we will catch this bastard you know" Hermione said as the young blonde started up the engine and kicked it into gear as they started to drive away from the scene.

"Don't start with your soppy shit Granger" he said quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on the road yet again.

"Stop talking to me lik..." she trailed off, her head snapping sideways to look out the window closely.

"I feel it too" he hissed and sped up, weaving in between the slower cars on the main road around them as the muggle repelling charm worked it's wonders.

"No one in any of the cars around us is looking at us and there isn't anyone in the car with us; we would have felt them. We have to do something about this Granger, it's driving me mad and it's definitely linked to Chang and Rosemary" he said, trying his hardest to get them off the road and onto the motorway.

"What can we do; it's based on a feeling and we have no evidence or anything and it's just going to get worse now were going back to London" she said, a little jittery.

"I think we need to make a detour. I want to go and see Andromeda Tonks"

* * *

><p>"Draco? What in god's name are you doing here?" Andromeda exclaimed as she opened the door slowly but was pushed aside roughly.<p>

"Hermione?" the woman said in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry Andie, Draco's a little impatient today" Hermione said, quickly slipping passed the confused looking witch and putting up her own additional wards to join with Andromeda's as she followed Draco into the living room.

"So are you going to explain why you practically burst my door off its hinges?" Andromeda Tonks asked, going over to a small cot in the corner of the room and picking a whimpering Teddy Lupin up.

"I'm so sorry Andie, Malfoy's just tired and our case is going nowhere. We thought you could help us with our inquiries?" Hermione said, trying to look apologetic.

Andromeda handed Hermione Teddy silently and turned to go and make some tea.

Malfoy was already going around the living room, tracing his hands thoughtfully over several picture frames and ornaments decorated with the Black family crest.

"How are you then Teddy?" Hermione asked, sitting down on the nearest sofa and grinning down at the beautiful baby boy with a full head of bright green hair.

"Mimi! Mished you!" Teddy shouted happily, reaching his small arms out to wrap them around Hermione's neck.

"I missed you to sweetie! What've you been up to?" she asked, embracing the child tightly and placing a small playful kiss on the tip of his nose.

Malfoy had stopped mooching now and was leaning against a cabinet, watching Granger playing with the laughing child. For some weird and shocking reason, Draco found Hermione extremely beautiful at that moment in time. It was so very foreign to him that he should find anything about Granger beautiful that it made his heart skip a beat and he had to resist coughing so as not to disturb the child and her's oblivious little happy bubble. He had no doubt that Hermione Granger would be an amazing mother one day.

"So Mione, how could I help you two with your 'inquiries'?" Andromeda asked, not taking the child from Hermione and ignoring Draco pointedly as she sat down on the arm chair opposite the sofa as she set the tray of tea down on the table.

"Well we've just been working on a case up in Cannock and we wanted to ask you about Sirius's dad" Hermione explained, adjusting Teddy on her lap so he was lying sideways and resting his head on her chest.

"Orion? Good Godric I haven't seen him since I was twenty four. He was actually a good man; well at least that was my first impression of him anyway. Narcissa hated him though but I think that was because Walburga got married before her and she was jealous. Lucius was very cold and withdrawn while Orion was the opposite. I guess that's why I married Ted. I was very much like Sirius and I felt I had to prove a point. So I married a muggle born and I loved him dearly. Orion and I were very close before that. We were good friends until I withdrew from the family; he hated me after that. Walburga hated me as well but not just because I married Ted. No, she hated me because after I did marry him, Orion was evil. And her suspicions of his love for me were confirmed. Apparently, he never smiled again. Then he did the only thing he could think to do; have children with a woman he would never love and attempt to import his evil over to them. Sirius was cast aside like me of course. He rebelled against everything Orion tried to teach him and Bellatrix trying to kill him was the final straw. Orion stood back and watched Bella torture him and so as soon as she left that night; Sirius packed up and left, hence his disownment. When I heard about it I knew the Orion I knew was well and truly gone; it was like just accepting that I had lost my brother. He died when Sirius was in his early twenties and Walburga followed shortly after him but Regulus died first which was most probably why they passed away. Orion simply could not deal with any more of a broken heart after me" she spoke slowly and carefully, remembering every detail as it came flooding back into her older brain.

Hermione didn't dare interrupt her and she could tell Draco was listening to his aunt just as intensely as she was.

"Do you think he was capable of murder?" Hermione asked her softly. Andromeda raised her eyebrows but nodded solemnly.

"Mother never spoke of this Orion" Malfoy commented curtly and Andromeda chuckled "No I don't expect she did boy; your mother was almost as cold as your father when it came down to matters close to the heart or accepting that they can feel any emotion other than hate" the woman said bitterly.

"Excuse me I'll have you know my mother is nothing like my father. She's definitely nothing like this Orion guy either. She was backed into a corner; my father was a bastard to her. You of all people should know what it's like to feel trapped by your family's expectations" Draco snapped rudely.

Andromeda narrowed her eyes "Draco you were much cuter as a baby" she replied and Hermione had to drink some tea to hide her laugh. Draco scowled but the tension was cut by a loud gurgle from a three year old Teddy.

"Mimi why did the bad men take you?" he asked. Hermione had to choke back tears "Oh god Hermione I'm so sorry" Andromeda said in a slightly pleading voice.

"Granger I think it's time to go now. I would say it's been a pleasure but unlike my father, my mother taught me not to lie so I won't waste your time with worthless pleasantries. Come on Hermione" Andromeda smirked at her nephew's attitude but Hermione's thoughts were nowhere near the question Teddy had asked her... Malfoy had said her name; her first name.

"What are you gawping at Granger? Move your arse!" and she was back to being Granger.

He pushed up and away from the cabinet and bent down to pick up Teddy.

"You actually touched your second cousin! Wow Hermione, you're a good influence on him! Harry was right" Andromeda said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, have the little shit back then so we can leave" he said.

Hermione was surprised at how tenderly or... normally Draco was holding the child almost as though it meant something to him. And she felt a sudden rush of emotion for her 'friend'. He was a man to her at that point in time; at that moment, Draco Malfoy was no longer the school yard bully that had branded her as the beaver toothed bushy haired mudblood. He was no longer the frightened, pathetic teenager who watched on as the word that ripped through her heart was carved into her arm. He was the man who travelled halfway across the world and emptied a quarter of his bank account to save her life. He was the man who had protected her and gone against his bosses wishes just to give her time to recover and he had put up with her rages and terrible mood swings and he was the only one that had truly forgiven her for being so stupid. He was the man who stuck up for her when she was right and argued with her like no one else had ever been able to do when she was wrong. He was the man who loved his mother with everything that he was and who did show a small amount of emotion when someone he cared about died and who got on with the job anyway. He was a man definitely... a rather attractive one at that.

* * *

><p>"What's the occasion?" Malfoy asked, his eyes scanning Hermione from head to toe.<p>

Her hair was cut shorter and wove in soft, brown, silky waves that fell to her collar bones and her normally middle parted fringe was pinned back intricately with a jewelled green flower. Her skin was as glowing and flawless as ever. Her brown eyes had been highlighted with a thin layer of black liner over the lids and her lips had been covered in a slightly red tinted gloss. She wore a slim fit, dark green, silk, backless ball gown that went along all her slender curves and pulled in around her petite waste and the fabric hid her feet, pooling ever so slightly around the floor. She looked absolutely stunning.

She grinned widely "like it?" she said, doing a brief twirl before leaning over her desk to grab her mobile and put it in her light green diamante hand purse.

He smirked at her happy antics "Very much. Where are you going?" he asked again and she winked and his heart skipped a very unmanly beat. "All the Gryffindors from our year are having a reunion ball at Grimmauld Place and I've been told I'm not allowed to go unless I turn up in something other than my work clothes. It's what the muggles would call a red carpet event" she informed and he nodded in acknowledgement of the information.

"Malfoy are you okay? You look a little distracted this afternoon. You were this morning actually if I recall correctly" she asked with a slight frown.

"I'm fine Granger now go run to Weasley and dance the night away so the bastard can get very drunk and cause you to leave him all over again" he snapped, going back to his work.

She narrowed her eyes and slammed her hand down on his desk, making him look up at her just as venomously. "What now?" he hissed and she furrowed her brow, her eyes searching his for a few seconds.

"Nothing...nothing give you the right to talk to me like that Malfoy. I simply inquired as to why you've been a moody bastard all day I was under the impression that when someone asks you that it is because they actually care about the answer not because they wish to receive an insult" she hissed back.

Something in his eyes softened and it was enough to soothe her temper. He didn't let go of his pride by apologising of course. He simply glared at her "Fuck off Granger" he snapped again and dipped his quill in his small pot of ink.

She pulled back away from the desk and sighed a little "Malfoy being a bitter, proud old sod will get you nowhere in life" she said, her tone collected but firm. "And you just contradicted yourself by insulting me back. Shut your mouth Granger or I will shut it for you" he said, his eyes not leaving the parchment he was working on.

"Oh really? And how pray tell will you go about doing that Mr Malfoy?" she smirked a little. His quill paused in place on the paper before he dropped it, lent back on his chair and surveyed her once more. "Do you really want me to answer that question Granger? And who are you going with then seeing as I can tell you're bursting to have your little gossip and I must say I thoroughly enjoy slagging off your fellow Gryffinwhores" he winked at her and her face stayed firmly in place but the blush creeping up her neck into her cheeks betrayed her cool exterior.

She smiled a little "You read my mind Draco" she said and jumped back, shimmying back into a sitting position on her desk, making sure not to ruin her dress.

"I'm not going with anyone" she commented and he laughed "What, you mean Weasley had yet again bean too stupid to ask you to the ball?" he said. She chuckled lightly and shook her head.

"No, I wouldn't have gone with him even if he did ask me; I do have a feeling he might do something stupid tonight" she grimaced a little. "To be honest Granger, I would be a bit overprotective if I were in his position considering you look as gorgeous as you do tonight" he said, making the blush more obvious but she chose to ignore his compliment. "Seamus did actually end up marrying one of the Patil sisters and she's heavily pregnant and Lavender Brown saw her dress being made in her shop the other day. The poor woman's predicted to look like a giant pink whale" she gossiped and Draco raised his eyebrows as he listened to her complimenting and bitching about all her all school friends; the woman really was getting better.

"Oh my god look at the time, I think I need to get going Malfoy I only came to get my phone" she exclaimed and jumped up from the desk. He smirked and nodded.

"We need to meet up for lunch tomorrow to discuss going up to Rome to check on the records for Orion Black so I'll call you in the morning after I've signed those papers for my new flat" she informed and turned on her heel to leave just turning to wave to him before she disappeared down the corridor.

Bloody fucking gorgeous Gryffindor females! Yes, Draco was in need of a long sleep and a cold shower. Of course; he had established in the last couple of weeks since they had arrived back in London that he was now 'friends' with the infuriating Gryffindork bookworm but it was frightening him very much that he was finding himself... attracted to Granger. She was beautiful, that much was obvious and had been since their fourth year at Hogwarts but if someone had told him three years ago that he would give a shit about whether the muggleborn lived or died; he would have hexed them into tomorrow just for being so god damned idiotic. Now however, she was having a lasting effect on him. Now she was beginning to mean something to him. It was like those muggle police officers you saw on the movies who were good friends with their work partners and did all this crazy revenge shit for them when one of them got killed.

Draco now understood that if anyone were to kill Granger; he would join Potter and Weasley on an angry rampage. The woman was bossy and nagging and infuriating, know-it-all, stubborn and demanding. She was also compassionate, proud, beautiful and intelligent and kind and he respected her. He still hated her though... didn't he? No, he didn't.

* * *

><p>"Dean! You're such a man whore!" Hermione laughed, watching him come back from the balcony looking thoroughly kissed for the third time that night. He winked "I'm young, what do you expect?" he asked. She rolled her eyes at him playfully.<p>

"And may I say Hermione you are looking particularly sexy tonight honey" he said with another wink. She chuckled "Thank you but your supposedly irresistible charm does not and will never work on me Dean" she grinned happily.

"Hermione, why is Ron glaring at me like I'm Freddie Crugar?" he asked and she looked sideways to find her ex-fiancé doing exactly that. "Did you not hear? I broke up with him and he's being his usual jealous bastard" she informed.

"Really? I thought you guys were like seconding Harry and Ginny on King and Queen of the wizarding world"

"Hmmm... so did I. I guess we're too different" she said sadly. Dean smiled in agreement "Yeah I always thought you were too good for him. That isn't me trying to chat you up again by the way, I really did think he was a bit of a loser; put next to you anyway. Naa, the nonce is more suited to Lavender or Parkison or someone cakey and dumb like him" he said and she giggled. "Uh oh, I think he heard you!"

"So what? I want the whole world to know that I think Hermione Granger is the sexiest woman in the room tonight and for some odd reason I have no intention to fuck her!" he shouted, making a couple of girls nearby laugh into their wine. She put her hand around his mouth a little and tried to distract him by making him dance.

"Not so loud Dean!" she laughed into the warmth of his chest. "Sorry but you know what I'm like when I have my amazing bursts of energy. And it worked! Ron is totally pissed off by my public display of affection" he retorted and she laughed again as they really did start to sway slightly to the slow stance of the music playing.

"You will be the death of me Dean Thomas" she said and he smirked "Bittersweet babe; you know you adore me really" he winked at her but frowned when he realised he didn't have to look down at her anymore "You grew" he stated a little dumbly and she giggled at his cuteness.

"No Dean, I shrank" she said sarcastically as his hands fell to her waist and her arms went around his neck as they grew more comfortable. "Dear Godric Hermione, you must be the same height as me now!" he exclaimed with raised eyebrows and she nodded "Malfoy was a bit surprised as well. He says it happened while I was in France but I'm not really sure" she mused.

"I don't know how Malfoy's managed to keep his hands off you; the guy sees you everyday Hermione, he must have noticed how gorgeous you are" he commented and she blushed again but smiled "I think he was a bit shocked tonight when I turned up in this. I only wanted to get my phone from our office and his eyes nearly burnt a whole through the breast line of the dress".

Dean laughed "I think he fancies you. Ginny's told me how you two are with each other and you know too well that you'd make a great couple. Not that I'm encouraging you or anything; Malfoy's still a bastard but you'd be kind of like the Romeo and Juliet of the wizarding world" he grinned and she rolled her eyes. "This is Malfoy you're talking about Dean. We hated each other for seven years and he still drives me up the wall daily. I'd end up killing him" she said and Dean smirked.

"But you do like him" he said and she scowled "Never" she hissed playfully. "Don't deny it Hermione, you like Drakie Poo" he cooed in a baby voice that made her explode into a fit of giggles against his toned chest. "He would not be amused to hear you calling him that" she said.

"Can I cut in?" an angry voice sounded from beside them and Hermione froze in Dean's arms.

"I think not Ron. Now isn't really a good time, unless of course, our fine young lady here _wants_ to dance with you" Dean said, looking sideways at her. She smiled a little at the fact that he gave her the choice. She shook her head.

"I have no desire to have any further contact with you tonight Ronald. Go and fuck Lavender in the broom cupboard or something; that really would be a proper reunion wouldn't it? Just like old times!" she said sarcastically and pulled a hysteric Dean away from a dumbstruck Ron towards the drink stand.

"That was brilliant Hermione... priceless" he laughed, leading her to a table by the fire after they had collected two glasses of champagne.

"Well someone needed to put him in his place. He's been acting like a wounded puppy for nearly a month now and it's just getting depressing" she smiled warmly and sipped her drink.

"So seriously, who've you come with?" Dean asked slowly. She sighed "No one asked me and I certainly wasn't going to make the same mistake of coming with McLaggen again; he kisses like a pucker fish" she said, cringing slightly at the thought. Dean chuckled again "the rumours are true then! He really is just an ugly face" he smirked and gazed off into the distance for a little while as a comfortable silence settled between them.

It only took a few seconds and Hermione felt stupid for believing that she could enjoy a single moment of calm with one of her best friends as a loud, high pitched scream echoed from the drawing room upstairs and Hermione immediately apparated upstairs followed by Harry and Neville.

She gasped at the scene before her.

Writing on the wall in blood read 'You'll be next Mudbloods'

Underneath it an eighteen year old girl Hermione recognised as Romilda Vane was lied stark naked with a single stab wound to her abdominal.

"Get Malfoy down here now. Block the room off Neville; no one gets in here and no one leaves this house do you hear me? No one leaves"


	9. Chapter 9

"Where the fuck have you been?" Hermione half shouted across the room as Draco Malfoy came sauntering through the door to the murder scene of Romilda Vane.

"Don't start Granger" he snapped and looked around the room, taking in the macabre in front of his eyes.

"So now they're trying to point the finger in my direction" Malfoy muttered heatedly "Fucking great".

Hermione frowned "What the hell do you mean? It's not you lied on the floor in a pool of blood! It's Vane" she said a little crazily, refusing to look down at the body that was starting to make her feel sick. "Don't you remember our second year? That bathroom? You three little hero's found Mrs Norris petrified and then the crowd from dinner found you. I said..." "You'll be next Mudbloods. Shit! The killer is someone who was there that night, there had to be at least half the school!" she exclaimed.

"Well we need to photograph this and move our trip to Rome over to tomorrow; no more parties or reunions. We need to catch this twisted arsewhole" she said and he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. "You aren't pointing the finger at me? No Veratesirum or violent interrogation?" he asked in total shock. Her eyes widened a little "You should know by now Malfoy; I trust you. If it was the other way around I would expect you to do the same, no questions asked" she said simply and curtly, turning to Neville stood in the doorway and signalling that he could collect the body for post mortem "Don't make me regret it" she said once before leaving the room.

"Romilda Vane... isn't she that girl who tried to drug Harry with love potion in sixth year?" Neville mused as Malfoy began to inspect the scene more closely.

On a table in the corner of the room, there was a small whiskey glass. Draco clicked his fingers and immediately a bag appeared around it, protecting it from any tampering. He the bent down right below it and searched the soft black carpet for anything out of place. Nothing.

He got down on his hands and knees, lowering himself onto his stomach and peering under the cabinet. He almost gasped; almost.

There, in clear, clean sight was a single strand of coarse, red hair.

* * *

><p>"So who was at the party with red hair?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked slowly in his soft, deep American accent on a visit through the Auror department the following morning before Hermione and Malfoy were about to make their visit to Rome.<p>

"That's the thing Minister. There was only one redhead at that party and there is no way on earth that he could be linked to any one of these attacks and murders and plus, he's too fricking dumb to even bother attempting a mass murder mystery" Malfoy explained respectfully as he sat behind his desk, proudly looking straight into the minister's eyes. "I assume you're referring to Mr Ronald Billius Weasley. Do not think so quickly Draco; Weasley was a very accomplished Auror before-" "Accomplished my arse; a good Auror wouldn't have allowed himself to be injured so gravely in the first place. Besides, if the man was so god damned clever then why did they stick him in the misuse of muggle artefacts office hmm? Why not the department of mysteries? If he's so bloody accomplished then why isn't he earning a million galleons a year as an unspeakable?" Malfoy ranted confidently. Kingsley listened to Draco with a slightly bored look on his face. "I have heard the same story over and over again Draco and now is not the time to discuss the mental abilities of someone who does not even operate within this department! This is the time for you to answer my question appropriately leaving out your arrogant disregard for the rules and general politeness required in a situation when conversing with your superiors! Now I will ask you once more, do you believe that Mr Weasley could have been in that room at any point before, after or during Miss Vane's murder?" Kingsley retorted, leaving Malfoy speechless for a few seconds, causing Hermione to have to cut in and explain.

"The red hair Draco found at the scene places Ronald in that room at some point during the night Romilda was killed. We found the killer's DNA again on the other whiskey glasses and a single finger print from one of the killer's was found on Romilda's face. Since Ron's DNA was also found in that room and no one else attending the party can be placed at the scene, we cannot rule him out as a suspect; however unlikely it may seem that Ron is indeed the culprit. Thomson and Parkison are questioning him as we speak"

Kinglsey nodded, threw a warm smile at Hermione and a soft nod toward Draco and left the room, his cloak unintentionally billowing slightly behind him as he went. Hermione sighed and pushed her wavy hair back out of her face tiredly.

"Malfoy, can I suggest something and you might not like it very much but I think we could really use his help" she asked carefully, being careful not to rouse his famous temper. His eyes snapped up and met with hers.

"I want to call in someone to assist us" she said again and he growled "Get on with it Granger!"

"I want to bring in Remus Lupin"

* * *

><p>"Orion Black... now that's a name I haven't heard in ages" Remus said in his usual gentle voice as he looked back and forth between Hermione and Draco.<p>

The death of his wife had left an obvious toll on his appearance. His face was still as devastatingly handsome as it had always been but there were a few more wrinkles now. His hair had a lot more strands of grey mixing with the soft, sandy colour of its natural state. His eyes looked tired but still soft and compassionate as ever. They did however; hold a very deep haunted look deep within the golden depths and the picture before the two young Aurors was that of a much older, much more broken Remus Lupin.

"May I inquire as to why his name has come up after all these years Mione?" Remus asked softly and she could not help but feel happy and warm at the kind, compassionate voice of her old friend. "I assume you heard about Cho Chang's death up in Cannock three houses away from our other vic, Rosemary? Well, DNA at the scene of Cho's murder is extremely similar to Sirius's; similar enough o belong to his father, Orion Black. Now, I am fully aware that he is dead but we are exploring every possibility here..." she trailed off slightly and Remus looked at her with slight confusion; like he was searching for something.

"Before Tonks died, she received an anonymous letter" he said slowly and immediately Draco and Hermione sat up, the information prickling at their attention; they were all ears.

"Here, I'll read it out" he said and stood up to go into his draw and pull out a worn piece of parchment.

"Nymphadora,

Your mother was a foolish woman with no regard for the consequences of her marriage to a filthy, dumb and uncivilised mudblood. But I would like to explain to you my love for her, once again, regardless of how pathetic she was in letting 'love' get the better of her. I knew your mother; she was beautiful and stubborn and stoic. She intrigued me and thus gave me worry lives to no end as I attempted to figure out the complicated depths and cogs of her brilliant but mislead mind. After several years of doing so, I realised that I was indeed in love with her. By then it was too late; I had already married to a suitable match picked out for me by my oblivious parents. I believe that as time went on I found a balance between my love for your mother and our friendship; that was of course until she married that mudblood and got herself disowned from the family. She never returned any loving feelings towards me and even if she did they were purely platonic. I have gained word of your wed to the half-breed and once again stress that you come to your senses and join your aunts in their quests with the dark lord to gain a level of purity and peace amongst our tainted wizard race. I was too late to save my son from the lure of the supposed 'light' but I beg you now dear niece, end your marriage and go to the Malfoy's where you will be treated properly and may be kept from harm's way."

Remus finished solidly without any traces of emotion or hurt. Hermione had tears in her eyes and Malfoy was shifting a little uncomfortably in his seat. "So you think this was sent to Tonks from beyond the grave or something?" Malfoy asked exasperatedly and Remus rose his eyebrows "Mr Malfoy I assure you I do not believe it possible for a person to receive a letter from a dead person" Remus answered calmly with a slight smirk on his face.

"But how else could Orion have sent Tonks this letter? I mean, the vocab sounds nothing like your father Draco, it's too old and civilised" she said a little sheepishly and Malfoy chuckled a little, making Remus look a little surprised.

"Oh right yeah, you'll get used to that" Hermione grinned, looking at Malfoy with something akin to fondness. The look in Hermione's eyes did not go unmissed by their previous professor but he decided against commenting on it no matter how much he enjoyed making Hermione blush, now was not the time for old pleasantries.

"Well, I do have a few theories and I wish to test them out but I will need your help Mione and I trust that you now need mine as well or is my knowledge still to 'ridiculous' for you Mr Malfoy" he said respectfully with s small smirk playing at the corner of his soft mouth. Hermione coughed to hide a laugh and Malfoy scowled a little.

"I am no longer the prejudiced, arrogant young teenager I once was Lupin; or should I call you... moony?" Malfoy asked, his scowl forming into something of his own smirk that no one else could rival. Remus chuckled and looked a little impressed.

"I can see that Draco. Well, I think we should start in Rome; you can look at the archives and the family tree and I will travel to Orion's burial place, I am sure I can find what I am looking for there. Give me a few minutes and then we can go"

* * *

><p>"He's just as annoying as I remember him to be" Draco grumbled, as him and Hermione walked across a small stone square in the sweltering hot sun of Rome.<p>

Hermione had her hair pulled back loosely in a slightly shorter than usual pony tail and she had on a white vest tucked into light blue denim high wasted mini shorts with a pair of dark brown gladiator sandals.

Malfoy was wearing a blue muggle t-shirt and normal denim jeans with dark blue converse trainers. They looked like a simple muggle couple enjoying the sights and landscapes of the old city. Of course, both were nervous.

On the way to the hotel they'd booked for their three day stay, they had both established that someone was watching them again and, similar to their previous business trip, they had been followed. So naturally, they had their wands tucked firmly into their pockets and their senses were ten times magnified and they were ready in case anything really did try to attack them.

"Oh don't be so childish Draco, he's the nicest man I ever met, including Dumbledore and Kingsley" she scolded in a bored but playful tone. He rolled his eyes "You know what I think Granger? I think little Hermione has a crush on lupy pooh" he said in a baby voice. She growled at him and began to walk faster so he was running to catch up with her.

"Bit touchy today Granger?" he asked with a small smirk.

"You're even more annoying when you aren't calling me a mudblood; your other insults are rather pathetic and dim-witted" she sighed. It was his turn to growl "What have I told you about saying that word?" he snapped and she raised her eyebrows, looking at him sideways as they walked.

"Who'd have known, the great Draco Malfoy touchy about the word that used to be second nature to him" she goaded and he stopped abruptly. She frowned but looked very angry when he grabbed her arm and pulled her in behind a stone pillar so no one could hear what they were talking about.

"How many times do you want me to tell you Granger? How many times do I have to save your life before you see that I'm different now? How many times do I have to do the right thing before you finally fogive all the wrong shit I've done?" he ranted angrilly, a slight tinge of pink appearing amongst his pale white cheeks as his frustration shone through.

"If you keep saving my life to prove a point then don't fucking bothe-" "You think I did that to prove a point? Surely you're more intelligent than that Granger! Use your fucking brain" he nearly shouted pulling them in further as some passers by began to look for the source of angry English accents.

She stared at him, their heights level now she'd grown so much and his blue, icy depths were on fire, his whole masculine body radiating with annoyance. She suddenly felt confined and claustrophobic stood with him in such a small place but she also noticed something else... she liked it?

"You care" she breathed out in conclusion after several minutes of searching his handsome face. He looked away from her a little and finally; after ten years of watching him hold up such a furious image, she saw his weakness.

She could not help reaching up to his face with her hand and pulling it sideways back towards her. Once again, she was surprised at how warm his skin was under the touch of her hand.

He still would not look into her eyes though and his jaw line was tensed angrily and she knew he was pissed off with her for uncovering his pretence so simply after all these years so she tried not to drag it out too much for him.

"Look at me" she breathed again, her breath ghosting softly across his face as one of the silky blonde stray strands of hair flickered against it. Slowly he brought his fiery blue eyes back to hers and the only thing she said before turning to go back into the square was.

"Thank you"


	10. Chapter 10

Strangely, the rest of the day was not an awkward prospect for the two young partners as they carried on their cover of muggle sightseers and visited a very old but beautiful building with more stone pillars and grand architectural value. It only took them a few seconds to get passed the muggles and they were in a kind of underground vault filled with cabinets covered in thousands of pieces of parchment and rolls.

Considering these were the only archives in the world that knew of wizards, the security on the place wasn't very tight at all and it was eerily easy for them to enter without permission.

Hermione walked along the isles with an expression of glorified shock on her face as she looked around at just how many different categories of information this single underground room held. Draco watched her with amused fondness as the struggle not to reach out and touch something she wasn't supposed to was obvious within her wide brown eyes.

"Enjoying the visit then Granger?" he chuckled, his voice laced with its usual hint of arrogant sarcasm. She rolled her eyes, his tone bringing her somewhat out of the information fuelled trance she had slipped so easily into. She remembered her task then and immediately began to flick through the sheets she could reach.

"D, E, F oooh! They even have a record on Flitwick!" she squealed and he raised his eyebrows disapprovingly and immediately she faltered a little like she used to under the glare of Snape and McGonagall.

"Yes, yes, I know. Get only what we need and nothing else" she said, going back to the alphabetical ordered scriptures.

He joined her in her search abut pulled to a halt when he turned the corner and saw a huge metal gate protecting a very large section of more archives. He took out his wand slowly and pointed it at the feeble muggle lock.

"Alohamora" he whispered and the gate clanged very slightly before opening grandly by itself. He stepped in and immediately felt magic in the air surrounding him. He suddenly felt a little bit better as he'd been stuck in the muggle world all morning and despite the disappearing of all his previous prejudices, he would always feel slightly uncomfortable with all things muggle.

He looked down the long isle ahead of him and automatically sprinted athletically towards the tall cabinet marked with a fading letter O.

He turned right and walked down it, following the alphabet as his soft pale fingered brushed lightly against paper, parchment, scrolls, scripts and large books/ volumes. Eventually, he found the section he was looking for and searched with the tip of his wand for the name he was actually looking for.

As he found it, his stomach swelled with anticipation. He levitated the necessary piece of parchment and just as he grabbed it in his hand, a hiss of his name alerted him to Granger's frightened presence at the end of the isle.

He was about to make a snarky comment but she ran towards him and pushed him up against the bookcase with a soft thud, her finger going over his mouth to signal him to be quiet as her breathing seemed to hitch in her mouth; Draco felt it once again.

They were not alone.

Hermione barely registered the closeness of their bodies as the fear gripped around her heart and her pulse quickened rapidly. When they thought nothing was moving, she felt Draco's strong arm wrap around the upper part of her waist and pull her away from the book case and up the isle to duck behind one of the desks. They slid down dark wood as their buttocks hit the floor silently and both breathed heavily, their chest heaving with adrenaline and fright.

"They're actually here, they're in this fucking room" she breathed as quietly as was possible. And once again she found their hands wrapped together, their fingers lacing into the gaps between the skin. Both were squeezing so tightly that neither could let go but neither voiced their acknowledgement of the embrace.

"What are we doing? We're the best Aurors in the world for fuck sake!" he cursed, his breath still laboured as was hers. The only thing still alerting them to their follower's menacing presence was the deafening silence and the usual feel of eyes piercing their backs bouncing off their skin and hitting the walls caving them into the dusty decaying room.

"Count of three?" she breathed, accepting his unspoken suggestion to fight whomever was causing the two so much discomfort once and for all. He nodded softly and both pulled out their wands, turning fast to face the wood and very, very gradually pulling up in a crouching position until their heads were about to be shown above their cover.

"One" she breathed shakily. His hand tightened impossibly around hers, reassuring her at the last second. "Two" he breathed back.

"THREE!" they shouted together and shot up, pointing their wands ahead, slowly manoeuvring them cautiously around them, covering all areas and isles in sight. Then, out of the middle isle, a curse shot straight at Hermione and Draco yanked her out the way, the curse hitting the wall behind where she was stood a second previous and dissolving as it burst a small dent into the stone.

"How many times do I have to save your ass?" he yelled but it was her turn to grab the collar of his shirt and pull him sideways as a green flash of light nearly hit him.

"How many times do I have to save _yours_?" she shouted back but both shut up as three separate curses came flying towards them from all directions. Hermione managed to block one and Draco blocked the other two as they started to shoot spells back down the three offending isles with yet still no indication as to who was attacking them. After a couple of minutes of hot, fast duelling, Hermione managed to stun the more accomplished assaulter and began to work on the other one as Draco was indeed fighting two at the same time. A blue flash of light brushed passed her ear and she twirled angrily, shooting a stun at her opponent just as the desk they'd been hiding behind shattered and blew up in front of them and she screamed as Draco pushed her to the floor, their bodies slamming onto stone with a deafening cash as more wood flew everywhere.

She heard him grunt in pain from beside her as his leg was out at a funny angle. She felt panic fill her as she felt a warm trickle of blood falling down the left side of her face but she ignored it and forced her body to sit up as she grabbed her wand from by her foot.

"Episkey" she whispered weakly and he coughed out in pain as the click of his bone pierced her eardrums and tear filled her eyes.

"Can you walk?" she half sobbed and he looked up at her fiercely "Yes and so can you. Come on" he breathed back, lifting himself up and pulling her with him as his arm went round her waist yet again.

"Ready?" he asked and she wiped the tears away stubbornly, feeling the dust and dirt from the explosion and commotion mixing with the wetness on her face. "Let's go" she said firmly and they stood, raising their wands yet again and stepping over the rubble.

Immediately they separated down two different isles as Hermione desperately tried to grasp that Gryffindor courage she was supposed to be famous for. All her fear dissolved and transformed into anger as annoyance for the ongoing tension in her shoulders gripped her and all she wanted was to catch this bastard and see what the fuck he thought he was playing at.

As though the universe had heard her thoughts, a crash echoed around the large room as the follower fell over something and she caught it in mid drop. She saw where his body was most likely to be and just as she shot a curse at him, Malfoy's curse joined with hers and hit an invisible body full pelt. The magical presence around them weakened slightly but both partners knew better than to relax. Hermione walked towards where she could feel the weakened presence coming from and dropped into a crouching position beside it.

"Revelio won't lift the invisibility spell; it's of their own making" Malfoy spoke as he limped slightly towards her and breathed out a bit, trying to get his heart rate back to normal.

She smirked slightly.

"I recognise it" she looked up at Malfoy with a minxish look in her brown orbs and she lifted her wand, lowering her glare back down at where the offender was lying invisible in the ground.

"Toujours Pur" she said firmly and sure enough, the spell lifted and the person who was really lying on the ground made her breath catch in her throat. Her lungs seemed to close off and her eyes widened in shock as she fell back onto her buttocks and crawled as far away from the body as she could until her back was up against a cabinet.

"Hello there Weasley; your ambition really was always too big for your body wasn't it? And I'm also wondering why the counter spell to your invisibility stunt is the Black Families motto?"


	11. Chapter 11

**HEY! So I've had a never-ending word flow these last couple of days so I managed to get a few chapters down ;) and now I wanted to give them a bit of time to realize how their relationship has developed since Hogwarts. So the pairing is starting properly now! Yaya! And I'm think I'll give them a bit of a break from anything terrible happening for a bit but not for long so don't worry I'll try and keep things interesting. I'm trying to keep them in character still but I'm finding it really hard for some reason. **

**Love Dee xxxx**

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious" ~ Albert Eienstein

* * *

><p>Malfoy aimed a hard kick at Percy Weasley's ribs as the tall, lanky redhead writhed around desperately on the floor of the interrogation room at the Roman ministry of magic.<p>

"I'll ask you one more time; who the fuck are you working for? TELL US NOW!" he shouted, aiming another kick at his nose and Hermione cringed as she heard the loud crunch as the bone broke and blood started to pour out.

"I can't say anything. The bonds on my knowledge are stronger than the unbreakable vow. I can't tell you anything else!" Percy screamed violently as he tried and failed to sit up, coughing in pain. Malfoy growled in frustration.

"Granger see if he's telling the truth" he ordered and she knew better than to remind him that he was not the boss of her when he was in this mood. She sighed and slid off her chair silently and crawled over to Percy. She pointed her wand at him and muttered a spell designed to reveal any truth bonds on Percy's soul/brain.

She gasped slightly and slowly raised her eyes to meet Percy's pleading ones "I swear Hermione, I have no idea what's been happening to me" he whimpered weakly and she felt tears sting her eyes and one feel stubbornly down her face.

"There are traces of the impirius curse on him Draco; he's had no idea what he's been doing. Percy, do you think you might have been following me and Draco around, watching us. Do you think you might have been passing information onto someone about the progress of our case?" she asked gently, pushing back a strand of red hair as he looked up at her, his eyelids drooping.

He swallowed painfully and breathed out once "I can't... I d...I don't know!" he exclaimed and she looked up at Draco once before everything her eyes back to Percy.

"I'm sorry; this might hurt a little Percy" she whispered and she closed her eyes "Legilimens"

Flashes of thousands of different colors swarmed passed her and shouts came from everywhere and she knew where she was immediately; she was at the battle of Hogwarts. It was not what she needed at that point in time so she pushed passed Mrs Weasley's screams for Fred and barged through into another scene; this was what she was looking for.

A man with a hood on was stood in a moonlit alleyway up ahead and she felt Percy walking towards him as another burst of light hit her and the man muttered something before speaking more loudly.

"I want you to follow them Perce. I want you to report back to me when they arrive back in London; I want to know everything they find and then I'll kill Parkinson if she's made any mistakes. Don't try and get rid of any evidence though; Hermione is too clever for that, she'll only kill you. And she may appear to be stood right in front of you but it doesn't mean she's really _there_ Percy. Fuck off now" the man ordered and she exited the scene. She tried to get something else on the hooded figure but certain walls prevented her from seeing anything else. She pulled out of Percy's mind to find him twitching in pain. She couldn't help it, he was so upset and messed up. She flicked her wand to fix his ribs and then pulled his upper body into her kneeling form as she cuddled him tightly; letting healers Draco had called fix his legs and nose.

"I'm not happy with you" she stated, looking up at a stony looking Malfoy. He shrugged his shoulders

"I don't give a shit. Come on, you need to tell me what you just saw" he said, walking over to her and holding out his hand. She let the healer maneuver Percy away from her and took Draco's warm hand as he pulled her to her feet easily.

He led her out of the door with his hand pressing lightly on her back.

As soon as they were in an office that had been reserved for them and the door was closed, she walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing? He was under the Imperius curse, all you had to do was check and see; you didn't need to beat him up" she shouted he looked back at her, anger flashing dangerously in his eyes; good, she had pissed him off.

"You don't get to slap me or punch me ever again Granger do you hear me? What the fuck were _you_ thinking not having a shield up when I wondered into the wizard section of the archives? You could have been killed you idiot!" he exclaimed, shoving passed her and collapsing on a chair nearest.

She scowled "We aren't talking about me Drac-" "We're always flipping talking about you Granger! Did you ever think about what could happen if I lost you? This case would be a fucking nightmare. With you gone the murders will go up to one a day" he shouted again and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you actually having a go at me because I wasn't keeping myself safe? You're so hypocritical Malfoy; you're just as fucking reckless as me and don't you dare try and deny it" she retorted loudly and he groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"You still don't fucking get it do you Granger? I don't care; I couldn't give a shit about myself!" he yelled and she faltered slightly, her eyes softened but widened in shock... was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"This doesn't matter right now. What matters is I still don't know who the leader is. I do know something though; Pansy Parkinson is not working for us. She killed Cho"

* * *

><p>"Malfoy! MALFOY!" Hermione screamed, running down the corridor after her partner as fast as she could. When she was close enough, she grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him back.<p>

"If you keep being so unprofessional about this I'll get us taken off the case" she said loudly in his ear and he froze.

"You think I'm being unprofessional?" he growled, turning around to face her "Yes. Your involvement with Cho is affecting your working behaviour. You need to stop beating people up when they have the slightest connection with her murder" she put it to him.

He glared at her for a few seconds and she knew that he wasn't pissed off because of Cho now; he was pissed off because he knew she was right and he couldn't think of anything to say to her or how to defend himself.

"Lunch" he said and she frowned deeply "What?" she snapped, confused by his sudden lack of comprehension. He growled in frustration "LUNCH! Lets get lunch Granger!" he hissed and she opened her mouth in a small oh in understanding of his request and she had no intention to refuse him; if that was what he needed to calm down then it was fine by her.

"Well come on then!" he exclaimed again and she blinked once to find him already walking back the other way very fast. It was her turn to run to catch up with him.

* * *

><p>"Sorry" she heard him mumble as they sat down at a table in the 'Waterfront' on a place called the Hoe in Plymouth; yes, they were back in Plymouth and she had never seen such nice weather. She wondered if the climate was always so on and off in this cute little city.<p>

She didn't dwell on his apology; it would just rattle him further. So she accepted it silently and called a waiter over to them quickly. "Just get us a large bowl of cheesy Nacho's" she said and for the first time since the archives, a small smirk appeared on his face.

"It's dangerous" he commented curtly and she chuckled "How well I know you is not a dangerous thing Draco; your mother knows you better, you don't consider that dangerous" and he didn't say anything back because once a fucking gain, she was right. He had no problems whatsoever with her knowing everything about him from his favorite color all the way up to his favorite foods (Which did include Cheesy Nachos by the way) because for some pathetic and incredibly degrading reason, he trusted her.

"Ahh, do my ears deceive me? I hear another silence which indicates the inevitable truth of my words" she said sarcastically with a beautiful smile and he rolled his eyes "Shut it Granger. Anyway, back to the case. You said that Pansy killed Chang?" he asked, pulling the conversation back onto a serious note. "Well, not exactly. When I entered his memory, there was a man who was about out age; a bit shorter than us. He was on first name bases with me though because he talked about me like he knew me. He impiriorised Percy and told him to follow us to Cannock and then he said that if Pansy had made any slip ups with Cho then he was going to punish her. When was the last time you spoke to her?" she asked. And he sighed slightly and she could tell that he was still trying to calm himself down. She was not worried; he had always had a bastard of a temper and to be perfectly honest, it was likewise.

"She was skinny, skinnier than I'd ever seen her. Even Blaise commented on it and then she got all defensive; storming out. I followed her and she was all crying going on about revenge and missing me in a different way than she should. Blaise said she was jealous of me and you but I said it was pathetic because I never even dated her properly" He said angrily and she could not help blushing; Parkinson felt jealous of _her_? And Draco hadn't even bothered denying to Blaise that anything was happening between them. But she almost sighed out loud; she overanalysing things again. She was aware that she didn't look like a troll but there was no way on heaven that Draco Malfoy would every like her… did she want him to? No, no, no! Definitely not… right?

"The last time I saw her was before she was sent in to question your lover boy gone wrong and she didn't look much better. I do remember going to comment on her black eye and split lip but she went into interrogation before I could say anything" he said and Hermione took a deep breath, leaning her head forwards so her hair fell over her face and had a kind of waterfall effect. He almost chuckled and smiled at how typical it was but he stopped himself. This was not like him; it wasn't healthy. This thing that kept popping into his head, these new mannerisms, saving her life all the time, staring at her and cold showers every time she showed up in something remotely revealing. He was a little annoyed with himself for allowing these changes to happen, he was not allowed to have feelings for Granger; she was bushy haired, bucked teethed, know-it-all, gobby, pissing annoying to no end Granger. Except she wasn't now, she was beautiful and sometimes slightly… sexy? And she was compassionate, funny, ridiculously brave and annoyingly selfless. So yes, he had indeed established that for some stupid and infuriating reason beyond his control that he was totally and utterly attracted to Granger in every way possible. He was also aware that he was acting out of character; this would have to change. He needed to keep his hard exterior up a little bit more before these… musings really did become dangerous. He would not put her in too much danger again. There it was again! For fuck sake; he wasn't a caring person, this shit was not supposed to happen to him! He was Slytherin Prince; epitome of iciness and 'fuck the world', selfish and uncaring and following closely in the footsteps of his godfather and father. Wrong; Snape was never selfish; not once did the man do a thing for himself during his whole, what? Forty eight years? And overexposure to his old potions master and godfather had obviously had a lasting affect on his… conscience.

Well, whatever it was he could never act on his feelings, it would ruin whatever working relationship they had and, dare he say it, friendship.

"Stop being all stressed Granger, you're going to lose it again" he said, not snappy but firmly and she lifted her head a little. "Don't you fucking dare lecture me about being stressed; you're storming around like the unstoppable Hulk!" he glared but allowed her point yet again "Fine, we both agree to try and relax a little right?" he did actually snap this time and she raised her eyebrows a bit "you want to agree on something?"

He looked away from her stubbornly but nodded curtly and she laughed. "Bloody hell, we have grown up haven't we? It's a little scary actually" he looked back at her now and she saw how much he really had matured. In fact, she could look in the mirror and say the same thing.

He suddenly smiled a little at her, flashing a full set of straight, white teeth and her heart thudded a little; she had a strong urge to tell it to knock it off. He was quite… beautiful actually and she felt privileged to be able to be one of the rare people who got to see him like this; happy. In all the eight year of their school career, she had never seen him smile properly or laugh with absolute abandon and now and again, he would let his guard down and be someone that could make her smile back, make her feel stunning by the way he looked at her or told her off for putting herself down.

She liked Draco Malfoy and it scared her to death.

* * *

><p>"Ron! What are you doing here?" she yelled as she walked into her living room in just her bath towel to find Ron Weasley appearing in her fireplace.<p>

He stepped onto her carpet, looking somewhat better than she thought he'd be at this stage and she felt a bit better, like a tiny bit of the weight and worry had been taken from her shoulders.

"I wanted to see you, we're still friends right?" he said, staying stood exactly where he was but his face was less tense than it had been at the reunion when she'd last seen him before he'd been brought in for questioning. He'd been released without further charge of course but she knew he'd been pissed off with her for considering him as a suspect.

He was happier now though, she could see that. His hair looked healthier and he seemed to have been working out more than ever. His body looked, in the most uncliched way; totally ripped! And his skin didn't look so pale.

"Have you been on holiday?" she asked randomly and he raised his eyebrows "Umm… yeah. About that… I might have done something a bit stupid" he said nervously and she could not help but feel warm at how cute he was when he was like this even though she was suddenly wary of what he'd done this time.

"What did you do?" she said firmly with a tired sigh, gesturing for him to sit down and she sat on the sofa opposite him.

"Well… I was in a really bad place after you left and then there was that thing with the hair and Romilda and I was just so angry at everyone. I went to Ibiza… I got a bit drunk you see and this guy started getting smart. I might have broken his jaw" he said carefully and she groaned "For god sake Ronald! Will you ever learn? You and drink do not go together!" she near shouted loudly and he looked at her pleadingly "I know it was stupid and I need to stop. Which is why Harry helped me get out on a caution and I'm going to this alcoholic meeting thing every few weeks" he informed and this soothed her temper slightly.

"I'm so sorry Ron" she whispered as a tear dripped unceremoniously down her shower flushed face. And he looked his usual awkward self.

"Hermione, I'm trying here. Give me some credit okay I don't need you reminding me of what happened; I am perfectly aware that you left me" he said with a small cough that she could tall was faked.

"Can I ask you something?" she said, wiping the tear away and taking a deep breath as she adjusted her shower robe he nodded solemnly, still not making eye contact with her.

"Are you still in love with me?" she said, her voice going slightly quieter. He sighed and ran his fingers through his red hair. He opened his eyes "You want the honest answer to that Hermione?" he asked in a tired voice and she nodded once. "I don't think I was ever _in_ love with you. I don't think you were ever in love with me either" he said with another sigh.

She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut tightly before opening them again and looking him full in the eyes for the first time since she'd left their old pokey little flat. "I think you're right. I do love you though" she spoke with a certain weakness but with a small smile that told him she was sure of what she was talking about; it was the look he'd missed so much in his desperate attempt to avoid her since the night she'd left.

"I love you too and we'll always be friends right?" he asked and she grinned out of habit "Did you really think I'd let you walk around thinking that I hated you for much longer? Come on, I'll take you round a tour. I'm not promising that you'll like it though, Malfoy helped with the designs" she said and he scowled a little.

"Go get dressed and then I'll see it" he said pointedly and she popped up, remembering at that point that she was still in one of the towels Narcissa had designed for her.

"Make yourself a cuppa; the kitchen's just through there" she pointed to the door on the far side of the room as she left to go upstairs.

* * *

><p>"I'm not going to go running back to him Draco, we agreed that we weren't actually in love in the first place" she said a little heatedly as she perched on her desk in a light blue blouse tucked into another high wasted black pencil skirt that came to just below the bottom of her thighs and her usual high black stilettos.<p>

"You better not Granger. I'll have to get your head examined. Anyway, this piece of paper that I grabbed from the archives, it's a letter" he said, sparking her interest as she jumped off the desk and came around his to lean over his shoulder.

"_When you are reading this, I will be long gone._

_You should know I am not back from the dead, even Dumbledore said that it's impossible so don't be so bloody stupid. This killer you're dealing with is smart though, they knew you'd waste time coming up here to get this. They lead you down a false trail._

_A couple of months ago, I was approached by a man asking me for information. The bonds placed on me restrict me from telling you anything too significant about him but I can say that these murders you are experiencing all these years later have been very carefully planned and are not at all random; the only thing careless about this are the people picked to carry it out. I do not know anything of the reasons behind this but I will say that you are on the right track._

_Despite what you may have heard about me, I am not a monster… or I wasn't anyway. I will not confess my whole life story to the clever people reading this but I will say that love ruined me. My own son hated me. You should also know that forensics and all this malarkey will get you nowhere. What the killer wants you to do is look deeper. Only then will you have a chance at bringing this bastard down for good._

_P.S The man who started this will also be dead. He will most likely have passed his plans on to his son._

_Catch the arsewhole._

_Yours sincerely_

_Orion Black_"

She read out loud.

"Well… I think out trip was rather successful Granger, don't you?"


	12. Chapter 12

HEY!

So I just did like four exams in the last week so all I've been doing is revising so it's taken me ages to bang out this chapter and I had yet another house party yesterday night, events of which I do not wish to recall… ever again.

Anyway, more interaction in this one. I don't think I can put the pairing off much longer so their first 'romantic' incident will be either in the next chapter or the one after that. And once again, I apologize for my reckless drinking habits and need to be ready for my exams the best I can. I actually mean it. I'm a bit of a Hermione… it's weird. The whole thing is about the continuation of their growing 'relationship' just to build up for the eventual coupling.

Anyway, review and let me know what you think.

Love Dea xx

"It doesn't matter where you go in life… it's the getting there that counts. That is what you remember the most"

* * *

><p>"We have the last place that Orion Black was documented to be in before he died and we'll check it out tomorrow. You should get some sleep Remus; we had Percy and the two other people who attacked us apparated to London for their hearing tomorrow. Did you find what you were looking for?" Hermione asked politely with a small smile that she always had on her face when talking to her old professor.<p>

"Yes actually. I went to the first house Orion lived in with his parents up until he was seventeen. I found some letters with no names all talking about this master plan. I'll tell you more about it in the morning; I don't want to unsettle you. They weren't signed but they were stamped to go to St Austell in Cornwall" he informed. Hermione felt something flash at the back of her brain, a small voice. She could have sworn she recognised something about the last twenty four hours that could be vital but she just couldn't place it and she hated not knowing things so it was frustrating her even more.

"Thank you Remus. We'll talk more in the morning. Me and Draco will finish up here in a second" she said and smiled warmly as he bent down to kiss her cheek.

When he was out of earshot, Hermione looked back at Draco with a small grimace. "What Granger?" he asked, sounding a little concerned. She sighed and pushed the wavy hair away from her face as she began to pack all the paper work they'd been working on away.

"Something's bugging me. I feel like I'm missing something; an important detail. It's driving me mad" she said. "Granger what else is wrong? You've been off all day" he asked her in a firm voice, keeping his stoic exterior firmly in place but leaving a space open for her to tell him what was really bothering her.

"Its nothin-" "Granger!" he warned slowly, telling her he wasn't giving up until she told him what was upsetting her. His typical behavior and general concern for her well being normally wierded her out but now she just felt like crying. He was the only one who really doted on her feelings recently and she was starting to feel a little lonely… and if she was being honest, a little bit too fond of the young and handsome Malfoy. Her childish crush on him was annoying her as well; she'd been blushing a hell of a lot lately and they seemed to be arguing more than usual. Yet still they kept a strong working relationship and stoic yet happy friendship.

"I miss my parents, I miss Harry and Ginny, I miss Ron, I miss Friday Weasley dinners, I miss George leaving stink bombs under my chair and Charlie flirting with me at every single fucking chance he gets, I miss just having a life" she sighed deeply, surprised when an unexpected tear she had not noticed was even there slid down her face. Malfoy looked calm and collected but she could see some kind of inner conflict or struggle within his beautiful ice blue eyes. He stood up and walked towards her with a small kind smile playing at the corner of his pale, perfectly sculpted lips. She nearly had a heart attack at how tender he seemed to be as he slowly reached up and tucked a curl behind her ear, wiping the tear away with his thumb as he went. His touch on her skin was feather light and warm again and all the blood rushed to her head and her eyes fluttered closed as a shiver ran down her spine, setting her nerves on fire.

He did not say anything when she just burst into tears as the emotion pounding away painfully in the front of her head in the form of a stressed induced migraine; he simply slid a hand around the back of her neck and guided her head to his chest as her arms wrapped around his waist tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably into his warmth. His arms caged around her shoulders protectively and he could not help but revel the feel of her petite but newly tall frame pressed against the hard planes of his stomach. He was just being there for her though. Right now he was being the friend that she needed; not the possessive man who had a stupid teenage crush on his work partner. Sweet Salazar when had he become such a royal fucking cliché? "It was you" she whimpered against his chest. "You brought me back to life. Th..the..they weren't there. They were gone for s…so l…long and I thought I was running out of time. I th..thou…thought I was going to die. You were my doctor… you always fucking are Malfoy. They…the…they're supp…posed to be my f…friends but after ev..vrything… you're the one doing w…what they should be. You bring me back to life every fucking time and it f…fu…fucking hurts because you hate me… you hate me and yet you're more of a friend then they are now w…when I need them the most. They don't give a shit but… neither do you yet you help me anyway… Shit" she breathed and sobbed and cried out in pain as he held her.

He had a strong feeling that she hadn't cried properly since she came back from her captives… not like this anyway. And now she was just shouting out tiny thoughts that flitted around her head because she was too tired to even bother organizing them like she normally did. So he opted for just letting her cry against him as he held her impossibly tighter. He had no idea where this stupid, pathetic fucking soft side was coming from and he hated it. He absolutely hated it but it was what she seemed to need right now so he didn't put too much emotion into it, he was just there. Just something she could cling onto as the after shocks of pent up emotion from months of pure torture began to mate together and then leave her damaged body as she cried herself into numbness.

After a little while, he heard her breathing slowing and he could tell she was falling asleep slightly so he reached down carefully and slid one arm under her knees and lifted her into a baby carry as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck and her eyes stayed firmly closed. He went to her bedroom door and nudged it open with his left leg and walked in slowly, being careful not to wake her as he lent down and laid her out on the bed, pulling the covers over her and pushing a stray lock of soft curly brunette out of her face. He turned on his heel and left to have a very large bottle of firewhiskey on their hotel room's living room couch.

He did not like checking in and out the entire god damned time so he silently made the decision to hire a Villa for the next few days. He planned to let them have a small amount of time under the sweltering hot sun of Rome before they went back to cold wet England.

He'd tell Potter they were working on a new lead or something.

There it was again! The stupid fucking caring nature and they were arguing again now as well only more so. He had established that there was some amount of unresolved tension between him and his work partner now that had not been there since they'd first started out together but now he fancied her as well? Oh he just wished he'd let Voldemort kill him on the spot so he wouldn't have had to go through that grooling process of establishing that everything he believed in, his whole world and the very foundations it was built on was complete and utter bullshit. Then he wouldn't have had to spend months going to court and pointless hearings, he wouldn't have had to watch his mother drink herself silly every chance she got and he wouldn't have had to do that himself as well. He wouldn't have had to accept that Granger was a person who was compassionate and who had feelings and who's blood was no dirtier or different to his own. He wouldn't be sat on the sofa in a hotel in the middle of Rome on the biggest murder case since the war, contemplating how he was supposed to deal with the fact that he seemed to have some kind of romantic emotion aiming itself at Hermione fucking Granger.

But for some utterly annoying and frustrating reason, it wasn't bothering him as much as it should do. It was freaking him out big time of course; this was the girl he'd bullied and chipped away at and pummeled into tears for the full stretch of six years of their childhood. He had made what should have been a magical and beautiful and wondrous new life, a total disappointment. He had made her world painful and dark and had contributed towards the worst capture of her life when he'd stood back and watched as the word that had haunted her well being since she'd discovered her magical ability carved relentlessly and ruthlessly in jagged, deep letters into the soft, untouched skin of her lower arm. He had been forced to be rooted to the spot as the girl screamed at the top of her lungs as her crimson, blindingly clean blood pooled out of said arm and into the floor in his sitting room as it latched itself into her bushy, wavy hair and coated her clothes while she writhed about in agony and begged silently for the pain to stop.

And yet, after all that, she still forgave him. She found it in her heart to put aside his childish bullying ways and agreed to work with him. She had become his friend and she had cared about him, shared her worries with him and laughed at his bastardly, moody and sulky personality when things didn't go his way. She would not be there with him if she was anything but what she was.

He knew at that point that he would try his hardest not to deliberately hurt her anymore. He decided at that point that he would stop trying to resist against his feelings for her and just allow them to run their course. If something happened then so be it, right? They were both mature enough to recover from a relationship between them gone wrong and to be normal work partners again. Sure, it would not be as stable as their friendship now but they could still work effectively and to the best of their ability together right?

He honestly didn't know anymore.

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><p>Next day, Draco woke to the feel of someone's gentle hand cupping his cheek softly and a little hesitantly. He knew the hand's intention was to simply rouse him but it rattled him all the same; since when did they get this comfortable around each other?<p>

He drew in a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut to ensure zero bleariness before allowing them to flutter open. He could feel dried tear tracks on his cheeks, why? He did not remember crying. Actually, he could not remember anything after putting Granger to bed and it was that that alerted him of the most painful headache he had ever experienced. He could feel the blood pounding painfully in his ears and he could feel his brain throbbing desperately as though it was trying to pump itself hard enough to escape the confounds of his skull. His mouth was unbelievably dry and his limbs all felt a little too weightless for his liking.

"Granger?" he asked, immediately regretting it when he tried sitting up and forced himself into a sitting position on the sofa, trying to stop his vision from swimming like the whole room was under water.

Eventually, he was able to make out Granger already dressed in a long black muggle maxi dress and gold gladiator sandals with her long ringlets left down in usual soft, wavy tendrils. She was crouched in front of him with her hands on his knees holding herself up in a way that wasn't going to freeze the joint in her damaged knee. He looked down at her with one eye open as he ruffled his hair, trying to place an image of what he had done after lifting Granger to her bed.

He just remembered a lot of firewhiskey but that much was obvious anyway.

"You look shite" she commented and he scowled dangerously down at her but she did not miss the tired look of feeble mirth flashing brilliantly in his beautiful crystal blue eyes and once again her heart thudded a little too heavily for her liking.

"No shit Sherlock" he snapped and she raised her eyebrows "How do you know who Sherlock is?" she asked with a surprised look posed in place on her still half awake morning features.

"I read a book once but that doesn't matter, what time is it?" he asked and she sighed, accepting that he wasn't saying anything else on the subject. She supposed he had sacrificed somewhat of his pride already, admitting he had read a muggle book after all and it made her smile again, he really truly had changed. So she resisted the urge to go all 'Gryffindor' on him and held out her hand to help pull twelve stone of body and muscle up off their five star sofa so he could sort himself out without throwing up on her which would be the most unpleasant experience of her life.

"Eight in the morning. Remus isn't up yet. I think we caught him at a bad time, it's the full moon this weekend" she said and Draco worked to stop himself from whispering something derogatory about werewolves. No, they were the same as everyone else and not at all weaker, he had seen it with his own eyes. He just found it difficult to remember that he was no longer a carbon copy of his father sometimes.

He tried to walk but nearly fell over and had to grab the arm of the furniture, just managing to swing his buttocks around with his Auror reflexes so he landed upright on it. Hermione simply stood there with her arms crossed just beneath her breasts, looking at him with amusement in her soft brown eyes. He hissed in pain and frustration. It didn't stop him trying again though and he collapsed on his left leg and smacked his head on the back of the Coffey table. This time she lost all mirth in her eyes and dropped down beside him, lifting her hand to the back of his head to bring it forward so she could look at it, ignoring his feeble attempt at batting her hands away.

"Hold still" she said quietly and a little impatiently as her fingers touched a small patch of wetness on his skull. She half expected his blood to be as white as him but it wasn't. It stood out blindingly red against pure white blonde as it leaked ever so slightly into his disarray of morning hair. He winced a little but she held his head still with both her hands as she whispered a non verbal spell to heal the small yet deep cut.

He gripped both her arms tightly as the burning sensation seared along the jagged edge of the laceration and sent chills to his heart as he held his breath, waiting for the pain to subside.

When his grip loosened and he let go of her, she leaned her body sideways against him and let him sling his arm around her so he could put his weight on her and stand up.

For someone so light and petite, despite being tall and woman like, she was surprisingly strong and their combined strength helped haul his entire body off the floor and onto his feet. She was panting slightly when he let go of her and lent his body against the arm of the sofa again but still, she was freakishly strong for her frame.

"You've been working out Granger" he commented and she laughed "Be careful Malfoy, that was nearly a compliment. Go get a shower you stink of alcohol and I need you looking dashing in case we need to charm anyone into giving us some information today" she said and he raised one eyebrow "Granger, I doubt you would have any problem forcing men to swoon at your feet if you really wanted to" he said. Her eyes widened somewhat "Twice in one morning, I might start making a diary" she grinned.

"Are you always this insufferable or do you reserve this mood simply for me?" he snapped and she rolled her eyes, the grin not vanishing from her pretty face. "Thank God, I was going to call a Healer from Mark Potter's mental ward" he hissed at her again and pulled himself up, limping away on a numb leg to get to his en-suit and leaving her to tidy up his littered firewhiskey bottles and cigarette butts.


	13. Chapter 13

Yo!

So I wanted to dedicate this chapter to the release of the new Harry Potter Part 2 Trailer! Oh my god! I'm hyperventilating! I think I'll have to try and calm down before I write this chapter!...

Three minutes later… I'm okay now. Still crying but I can actually type properly.

Anyways, I'm going to try and make this one a little more interesting because I feel I might be having a dry spell with the reviews. Keeping Malfoy in character is so hard! But, the show must go on.

Oh god, my hearts still racing from that god damned trailer!

Love Dea xx

P.S REVIEW! Xxx

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><p>"Love can be drawn even from the worst of enemies; sometimes that is what makes them enemies in the first place"<p>

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><p>"Hello, I'm looking for Maria Thomson?" Hermione Granger said as they approached a very plush looking reception at a building titled in big, fancy letters 'Torre dei segreti' Malfoy had translated it for her and she was already beginning to feel wary as she began to smile as warmly as she could at the receptionist who was very beautiful.<p>

The woman had honey brown, shiny, soft, wavy hair and deep golden eyes. Her skin was very tanned and flawless and her eyes were shaped into big, attractive full moons with thick, full and equally brown lashes. She wore a loose fitting, indi pattered smock blouse over brown tailored chinos and brogues and two very tiny earrings were dangling intricately from her lobes in a barely visible but subtle gold flower pattern.

"Mrs Thomson isn't taking any appointments today" The Greek receptionist spoke in a heavy Italian accent as she looked Hermione up and down with an expression of indifference on her face, making Hermione's smile vanish.

Malfoy stepped in from there "Ciao bellezza. My name is Draco, I prefer Dray though. The thing is, my acquaintance and I need to see Miss Thomson and I'm sure she will be interested in my proposal. Trust me my bellezza, your pay will benefit muchly from my transaction" he said with a wide, breathtaking smile and a hand flipping up onto the desk easily.

"Did you say Draco?" the woman asked, her eyes widening slightly as the lines around them softened. "I believe that is what I said bellezza but you my dear, may call me whatever you want to" he said and all of a sudden, Hermione's insides began to burn with jealousy and she cleared her throat loudly, earning a dirty look from the woman over Draco's shoulder.

The woman blushed but grinned back suggestively all the same "Your father was always the charmer as well… Mr Malfoy" the woman said and Hermione had to try to remember that Malfoy was almost as famous as her.

"My father?" Malfoy asked, caught off guard slightly. Admittedly, it did not look good, Lucius Malfoy, dead or not, had been in the place that Orion Black had been in before he'd died.

"Yes your father. Lucius. He was just like you, the same eyes I think. And you, I recognise you from somewhere? Have I met you before?" the woman said to Hermione, seemingly getting bored of Draco's antics already.

"Hermione Jean Granger" Hermione said, rolling her eyes in frustration when the woman gasped.

"WOW! Will you give me a signature?" the woman squealed happily, dropping the pen she'd been chewing and standing up to get a proper look at the war heroine. "I tell you what 'bellezza' if you let us up to Maria, I'll give you a signature and I'll send you Harry Potter's sock" she said bitterly. The woman however, appeared unscathed and nodded her head eagerly.

Hermione rolled her eyes "You'll let us up if I sign some parchment for you then?" she said and the woman nodded. "You too mister Malfoy, you were war man as well, no?" she said and he gritted his teeth in frustration. "I fought, it didn't mean-"

"What he means to say is, he'll sign as well. Won't you Malfoy?" Hermione hissed and stamped on his foot, leaving him cursing under his breath but signing the girl's paper nonetheless.

"Just go right up. First door on the left" the woman instructed and they nodded.

Hermione felt Malfoy's hand on her back and she knew he was being cautious. He always subconsciously touched her when he was nervous. She thought it made him feel a little more assured that she was still there and that he felt as though he was protecting her. Not that she needed it of course but she had learnt that there were certain things you just didn't talk to Draco Malfoy about.

"We're being followed again" she froze to a halt with a whisper and he looked impatient but she took out her wand and twirled to face the receptionist at the bottom of the white spiral stair well but… she was gone.

"Shit" Malfoy hissed and he already had his wand out. He locked all the doors in the building with a single, nonverbal spell and free styled off the staircase, landing on his feet. He slowly walked towards the desk, his heart beating at three beats a second.

Hermione ran up the stairs and pushed open every door she came to, finding all the rooms that she came across totally deserted. As though no one had worked in any of the offices for a very long time.

Eventually, she came to a room at the end of the corridor, the room she had been looking for. This was the one room that made her insides crunch up with adrenaline and fear; Rome really wasn't looking good for them the way that they were going.

She swallowed hard and reached into the small satchel bag she had around her hip and closed her fingers around a muggle gun, the metal was cold and unforgiving underneath her skin and she withdrew it from the fabric, lifting it very slowly in front of her along with her wand in her other hand. She took slow, steady steps, casting a non verbal silencio on her feet so that whatever was behind the door wouldn't anticipate her coming. She was now going solely on her instinct and was working hard to calm herself so that the part of her mind that trained her body to catch dark wizards was able to make her more aware. When she reached the dark oak wood, slightly scratched and worn down with age, she was trying more than ever to calm herself down, trying to remember that this was the rush she loved about her job and that stuff like this was always going to happen to them.

She moved her foot forward a little and nudged it slightly. It didn't budge; it was locked. The only one on the whole floor that was locked.

She lifted her wand and whispered (she had no idea why she was whispering) "Alohamora". She heard the clicking of the cheap muggle mechanism and felt even more apprehensive than before, for a situation so creepy, getting into this one locked room was much too easy.

She stepped in and the sun immediately blinded her for a second as she blinked to take in her surroundings, not lowering any of her weapons in the slightest. She flung herself around the door and raised them to full height, pointing the gun and her wand straight ahead of her.

What she saw made her want to scream at the top of her lungs but the sound caught in her throat as she was forced to swallow bile burning in the bottom of her stomach. Her heart felt as though it was going to jump out of her chest as she tried desperately to allow her aching, pounding brain to grasp the reality of the scene in front of her.

She briefly registered Malfoy running into the room and stopping behind her, shouting a swear word that sounded like a mere breath hitting her ears.

Maria Thomson was actually Marianne Granger; Hermione's mother.

And she was very much dead.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey!

So I'm aware that the last chapter was a bit short but Give me some credit, I'm fifteen, I have a small concentration span! I had to rewrite this chapter at least three times because I wanted to get it just right. I still don't know if I'm completely happy with it. I think I got Hermione's reaction okay but I'm not sure; I tried to imagine what I would feel like if I lost my mother and take into consideration how up and down Hermione's feelings would be at the same time. I know Malfoy would be the confident one but I'm trying not to copy a couple of other fics I've read that are a little bit like this but it's kind of hard considering that the others were so good.

Thank you to 'The Ferrit Lover' 'Wolness' and 'Mrs Malfoy' (Great pen name by the way! And thank you for being one of the first people to read my own story! I'm glad you enjoyed it) for your kind reviews! It made my day. And whoever else reviewed, alerted and favourite! ;)

Anyway…

PAIRING!

Nuff said!

Dee xxx

P.S. REVIEW!

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><p>"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" ~ Albus Dumbledore JK Rowling

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><p>Hermione felt like she was floating.<p>

Floating in a kind of fuzzy, foundationless limbo between reality and a lot of bleary, vision obscuring light. She didn't know if she was awake or asleep nor was she aware of where she was or what exactly she was doing. She just felt so light, like she was sleeping amongst the clouds. But inside all clouds, there is rain. Dirt, filth and darkness and just like all things, its appearance created a false illusion of calm. She was constantly cold, constantly shivering. Her bones felt like they were about to snap and all her muscles had seized up. She was shaking and her organs were quivering continually, yet she was unable to create any kinetic energy with her weak body whatsoever. She had never felt so tired and yet so awake. Dead, but still breathing. Gone, but still present.

Her heart felt as though someone had ripped open her chest, sliced her throbbing heart into a million miniature pieces and fed it to the most evil werewolf one could find.

Her skin felt rough and numb as did the situation she'd been placed in and she could not bring herself to care whether her sore, tear encrusted eyelids were open or shut. Time had stopped.

No, that was wrong description, it hadn't stopped but it came in slow lurches and soft pulls and each second ached continuously like the consistent pulse of blood behind an age old bruise.

She couldn't place significance; nothing felt real… sometimes, nothing really felt like anything.

Light, dark, grey. All had no difference and each consumed her like a wild fire ripping down a huge structure. Reality held no bounds as did idealism as she partially dreamt of nothing and everything because that had no difference either.

Her guardian; her angel, her adviser, her best friend and worst enemy. The woman she had fought with, cried against and laughed with. The person that made all her troubles seem so far away and the person who made nothing but love matter when the world was in tatters. Her mother was dead.

How could someone expect her to accept that? How could someone expect her to do her job, her duty; when she had found her mother stone cold dead on the floor? She winced and cowered like a little girl in the dark as the image flashed in her minds eye, cutting through her pain and splintering her soul further.

Marianne Granger was found pale, raped, bound and beaten with the single word 'muggle' written across her chest in bright red, scarlet shining letters, like a broken angel. Peaceful yet invisibly, inwardly burning. Tainted with the lingering smoke of evil clogging Marianne's insides and blowing out the bright light that had previously shone within such a perfect, compassionate human being.

Nothing about the scene around the body had registered with Hermione after that. She had simply dropped to her knees, clutching her wand but letting go of the gun as she fought desperately to keep oxygen running through her lungs but she could not do anything, she could not feel much either and she knew her body was shutting down in shock.

Nothing could have connected with Hermione's brain except the warm, salty tears dripping hot and fast over her paling skin as her vision went bleary and her head ached. She remembered subconsciously clinging to Malfoy on the floor tighter than ever before as Aurors flew passed them, processing the scene. No one forced her to move for several minutes and since then, she had only established that she was in the bedroom of her house.

She remembered screaming and thrashing as the Aurors bagged the body and apparated it away and she remembered the soft hum of Harry's voice and his hand stroking her face as Draco rocked her to sleep with Ron's hand tightly clutching her cold one.

Now and again when she gained feeling in her limbs every couple of hours or so, she could grasp the edges of reality and found that she was sat in the corner of her room, hugging her legs and knees up to her chest desperately. She could observe that the position was painful and extremely uncomfortable but she didn't try to make herself at home. No place held that comfort for her now.

Malfoy had not been in but she could here him moving about downstairs at times, when she was briefly living, briefly breathing almost normally as the numbness subsided for a few stolen moments at a time.

She could hear the TV now but she very much doubted that Malfoy was really paying attention to what was on. She could feel his thoughts flowing intensely from upstairs; she didn't think anyone thinking like that could have any sense of concentration at all. For some reason, feeling his strength and control of mind comforted her. It made her feel more in touch with herself, like she wasn't actually dying; that it wasn't over yet no matter how much she wanted it to be.

It wasn't over of course and she most certainly wasn't dying. She knew that she would be given the choice, or rather 'strongly advised' to be taken off the case and she had no intention whatsoever of allowing that to happen, whether she was given the choice or not.

She was more determined than ever to catch the person doing such horrible things. She was more determined than ever to make sure that the killer went through as much hell in Azkaban as she was going through now.

She never thought in a million years that she could truly hate someone to the point where she wanted them dead. Bullshit. She hated whoever this evil bastard was more than she had hated anything in her whole entire life and she wanted him to suffer pain until the filthy shit was begging for death.

She did not know what made her do it, just that at that moment she had an urge to move. Slowly, she retracted her arms and hands from around her legs and flexed them a little to get the blood flowing through them again. She moved her legs out in front of her gradually, moving her ankles in circular motions to stop the numbness as the tips of everything tingled through sudden gain of blood.

She pushed up on her hands to try and lift herself but they were weak from lack of use and she collapsed a little. But she was Hermione Granger still, so obviously she pushed up on her wrists again and leant more against the wall behind her.

Carefully, she managed to lift herself upwards to her full six foot height. She allowed her eyes to close momentarily before she drew in a sharp breath and pushed away from the wall. She took a step forwards and found she was okay to walk.

She had to sit on her buttocks and shimmy down her stairs because her legs were still a little too shaky for her to master the stair case at that point in time. Apparently Malfoy was asleep because he had not heard her struggle yet. But then again, she doubted that he would come out and help her, he let her do things for herself. She liked it that way.

When she reached the bottom, she took both sides of the hand rail and lifted herself again. She slowly walked into the living room and smiled very, very weakly when she saw Malfoy laid out on the sofa completely gone to the world. She wasn't strong enough to even attempt intercepting his dreams. Not that she succeeded normally anyway, his occlumency skills could rival Snape's.

She walked over to him and moved down onto her knees, her skinny jeans she must have changed into at some point, scraped on the carpet a little as she subconsciously tucked a curl behind her ear. She leaned forward slightly and touched his face again, like she had done that morning at the hotel in Rome.

He squinted like he normally did but sat bolt upright when he saw her.

"Granger, you're up" he said and she sighed "State the obvious Malfoy" she said. Her voice was crackly from all the screaming and crying she had done but held the same defiancy it had always done.

"Don't be obnoxious. Let me get you some lunch" he said, holding out his hands curtly to help pull her into a sitting position on the sofa next to him.

"I am perfectly capable of making my own food Malfoy" she said and he sighed, flinging his body back on the cold leather. "You will never stop being stubborn will you?" he said.

"Why haven't you gone back to your flat Malfoy?" she asked suddenly and his eyes widened a little bit. "Why do you think?" he said and she growled angrily "Do you have to talk in riddles all the time Malfoy? Tell me why you haven't gone back to your flat to sleep and eat?" she asked again, in a much more frustrated tone than she normally would have done.

"I won't have this conversation with you right now Granger, You don't want to be having this argument with me for the next couple of days" he snapped but she could hear the concern behind his exterior as usual.

"I'm telling you I want to talk about this now. This has gone on long enough and I can barely grasp anything real at the moment so I want to be sure of something" she demanded, her voice rising slightly as she became more infuriated by his refusals.

"And I'm saying no Granger. You don't want this, not now" he said and she stomped her foot hard, wincing when all the fibres in it vibrated and pain shot through her leg.

"Well that was mature" he said, almost a shout now and she just lost it then.

"Stop being such a prick Malfoy, god you're so fucking annoying. Just tell me why you're being so different lately, that's all I want to know and you're even being a bastard about that" she shouted back.

Both of them were on their feet now and she suddenly felt absolutely awake. She needed this, she needed to scream and scream until her throat bled and his ears wept. For some reason though, she could not bring herself to lose it completely. She had a strong urge to remain in control and for some crazy reason; her anger was helping her to do it.

"Fine! You want to know why? Because I've done so much shit in my life, there aren't many people I care about. You're my friend Granger and I'm not stupid, Weasley doesn't know you, not really and Potter has his own bullshit to deal with. You need me. Don't forget, I knew Marianne as well. You aren't the only one in pain because you've lost someone Granger" he yelled and for a second she faltered.

The next thing she knew, she was kissing him fiercely and he was kissing her back, crushing her to him as they drew heat and comfort from each other.

Kissing Malfoy was strange. Not unpleasant strange. Definitely not. No, it felt too fucking right to be wrong. It was just… strange. His lips were soft and perfect brushing hard against hers and his mouth was warm. Kissing Malfoy was perfect.

Hermione could feel thousands of other feelings rising inside her, everything ran faster than it normally did and it left her head spinning and screaming silently for more. She wanted to be closer, impossibly close. So her hands went up behind his neck and pulled him further into the kiss, needing more of his warmth and solidarity.

She suddenly had a bout of reality hit her like a tonne of heavy black bricks. She pushed away from him and found her weight being supported by a nearby cabinet.

She was panicking; this couldn't happen to her, not now. Not ever for that matter. The consequences of a relationship with Draco Malfoy were too severe, she could not, would not let it happen. Yet once again she found herself becoming lost in those deep, icy blue depths full of self anger, confusion and lust as they burned coldly into her own. She hated him… well, she wished she did anyway; it was much simpler when she hated Malfoy.

"What are we doing Malfoy?" she asked in a slightly whiney, tired voice.

He hissed in frustration and resisted the urge to stamp his foot as well.

"Well Granger, I believe we were just kissing" he said angrily as he sat back down on the sofa, cradling his head in his hands, his fingers scratching through the slightly greasy blonde hair; he hadn't even had a shower. She felt another annoying jolt of fondness for the Slytherin as she watched his mannerisms with slight fascination; he was the most intense human she had ever come across. Everything Malfoy did was centred around his emotions. His explosive temper, his stoicness, his fear of awkward situations.

The difference between Malfoy and Ron she had noticed though, was that Malfoy recognised when a situation really did need to be addressed and he dealt with it professionally and in a politely closed off way, only admitting his true feelings if it was absolutely necessary to the predicament.

"I'm going back to bed; I just wanted to see how you were. Get Ron to come down or something because you need to go home and sort yourself out. I mean it Malfoy, if I can still feel your presence in the next half an hour, I will ring Thomson and get him to drag you back to your flat" she said in an emotionless tone, working hard to keep herself composed.

"No you don't Granger; you don't get to walk away from this. We'll have to talk about this sooner or later" he demanded, catching her wrist as she made to walk passed him and back up the stairs.

"Not now we don't. I'm taking one day off. Just one. And I'll be back in tomorrow, regardless of how many people shout at me. I have a few ideas and I want the post mortem results on my desk by eight or I'll have Jessie's head… you tell her that. Now bugger off Malfoy and I'll talk to you tomorrow morning… if I feel like it"

"Granger-"

"No, don't do that. You don't get to 'Granger' me. I've said we'll talk about it and we will but… my… my mother just… died. Try not to be selfish just for today Malfoy. I appreciate your care but you need to look after yourself as well so fuck off and get cleaned up" she said, her voice slightly softer now as he stood up to argue with her again, not realising how close they were again.

"Shut up" she advised before he'd even said anything and with a small brush of his cheek with her hand, she walked towards the door. She knew he was storming angrily towards the fireplace to floo to his house.

"Oh, and Malfoy?"

He spun around furiously, an inch from his goal and looked at her coldly.

"Thank you" she whispered before turning on her heel and making her way carefully back up the stairs on uneven footing; her injured knee was playing up big time and she just wanted to dose up on dreamless sleep potion and sleep all through the night. When she'd reached the top of her stairs, she heard the distant roar of the floo and the front door opening and closing as she felt Ron's presence replacing Malfoy's.

"The ice cream's in the freezer" she called behind her, knowing Ron would be searching for it at some point during his babysitting session. And she heard his soft grunt of acknowledgement before she closed her bedroom door behind her.


	15. Chapter 15

"Mione please just eat the god damned sandwich? Please, or so help me, I will actually get Harry to call Malfoy and get him to come down here" he said in a pleading tone. Hermione sighed deeply "Ron, I'm not hungry" she countered simply and got up from the Coffey table to get dressed into her work clothes.

"You're going to work? Are you mad? Hermione you'll collapse on the spot!" Ron shouted behind her and she whipped around fast "Stay out of my thoughts Ronald; I will do what I want. There is nothing physically wrong with me so therefore I am still a perfectly capable human being. My mother died, I wasn't in a car crash. Right now, I'm shattered Ron, I wont lie. But if there's one thing I've learnt from Malfoy, its shit happens. It just going to be more painful if you try to pretend otherwise" she snapped and turned back around, apparating upstairs. She knew apparating was a huge and stupid risk and she did feel Ron try to stop her but she felt just about strong enough to do it. Sure enough, she popped up in her bedroom fully herself and not a splinch in sight anywhere on her body.

Immediately but still a little shakily, she started to undress. She picked out a simple pair of black skinny jeans with her muggle witch boots and a fitted white blouse that she matched with a tailored black blazer. She opted for pulling her hair into a simple ponytail and left a few strands to fall down and elegantly frame her face.

She could see the beginnings of dark lines under her eyes and they were still red and a little puffy from all the crying she'd done the day before. She knew she was going a little fast but she needed something to concentrate on. She could just about tolerate time off work after she'd been captured but this was a different thing entirely. She couldn't think of her mother too much, she simply couldn't.

She didn't bother with glamor charms or make up, she was who she was. If someone didn't like it, they could fuck off. Of course, she shouldn't actually look so ill but she could survive without eating anything for a few more hours, and besides, it was still half seven in the morning; she still hadn't woken up properly.

She didn't need a bag or anything; she just put her phone in her blazer pocket and lodged her wand in the front pocket of her jeans. She was ready. This probably showed how bed it was, the fact that it had taken her less than ten minutes to get ready for work. It was okay though, she was strong and she was working through this step by step.

"Ron, I'm going now so make yourself useful… actually go to work for a change maybe? I don't need you to baby sit me anymore, go back to the flat yeah? Love you" she shouted down the stairs from the landing and before he could shout anything back, she'd apparated away from her home, straight to their office.

Malfoy wasn't in yet but she wasn't worried; he'd had just as much of a hard twenty four hours as she had and he was probably showering or something.

She had no idea what it was going to be like working with Malfoy. She didn't know if that stupid, amazing kiss yesterday was going to affect their working relationship but she knew that they would be as professional as was possible.

She sighed deeply and went to sit behind her desk. She bent down slightly to open the bottom drawer and took out a brand new evaluation of the weeks events. She sat back up, fanned the parchment out on her desk and took the lid off her ink bottle. She remembered then her request for the post mortem and forensic results for her mother's death scene and body and she checked her watch. Jessie had one minute to get the information to her and Hermione had a sickening tingling at the bottom of her stomach that rattled her heart slightly in deep anticipation of having to look at the photos of Marianne Granger's dead body.

At that point, the fire place roared with bright green flames and Malfoy stepped out. His hair was styled again and there were no dark lines or red sores around his eyes but the icy blue pools held a little less fire than normal. He was dressed in an abnormally casual pair of dark blue jeans and converse trainers with his normal expensive looking black tailored coat. He nodded curtly to her and went to his own desk.

She cleared her throat and drew in a shaky breath "Remus came over this morning and gave me those letters and I have an appointment to speak with Kingsley this afternoon to discuss what to do next. I've got the post mortem results coming in a second" she said, still looking down at her notes and pushing a dangling curl softly behind her ear.

At that moment, Malfoy slammed his newspaper down on the hard oak wood of his own desk to get her attention. She snapped her head up and glared at him "If you're going to throw a man tantrum then do it somewhere else, I'm trying to work" she shot in a venomous voice, all professionalism vanishing from her hot and cold exterior.

"Don't you dare lecture me about tantrums Granger. I want you to look at something with me and since you're being a bitch and ignoring me, I thought I might need a small loud gesture to get you to actually bring yourself to look at me" he hissed back, his eyes angry and cold; his skin pale and a little more gaunt than usual.

"You didn't eat last night" she accused offhandedly and he cursed, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling in extreme frustration. "I do not do everything you tell me to Granger, I'm just as fucked up as you right now, I can't keep anything down. I did try to. Now, back on the subject of what I wanted you to look at. My mother woke up to find a message on her bedroom wall written in blood. Get your arse over here and look at this picture, I've got Dean processing the scene right now; Longbottom's still busy with… well, you know."

She placed the top back on her unused ink bottle and placed her clean quill neatly over the parchment she'd been looking at before standing up and going to stand behind him.

She nearly gasped… nearly. She would have normally but nothing about this killer's antics really shocked her anymore, she doubted that he could do much worse.

It was a clear forensic photo of the familiar wallpaper of one of Malfoy Manor's bedrooms. Across it, painted blindingly in dark red, almost dried letters was the simple yet terrifying message.

"_Not even the Malfoy's are safe. Try deciphering that Granger_"

This was it. The point when she truly accepted that the plan was personal. He was baiting them. Playing with their emotions, breaking both young Aurors down until they were ready to snap. She knew what would happen after that of course; the killer would plan a way to get to them both alone and then kill them, consequently ruining all chances of ever catching said psychopath.

"This is the reason why I came in today. I refuse to let him do this. I refuse to let him get to us. Malfoy, I suggest that we go to the manor later but I need you to help me with these letters this morning. I'll go and see Kingsley now. Tell Jessie she's lucky I'm not here when she turns up late in a few minutes. See you in about an hour" she said, pulling her blazer on and going to the door.

"Granger, are you even going to let me have a choice in this?"

"When have I ever let you have a choice in what I do?"

"What we do Granger. That 'we' is extremely crucial from now on"

"I'll see you later Malfoy"

* * *

><p>She pushed through the Auror department with an annoyed, impatient huff and resisted the urge to pout childishly as she managed to get through the double gold plated doors before she was plunged into a lot of very loud, organized kind of chaos.<p>

"Miss Granger, is it true he butchered your mother?"

"Miss Granger, can you confirm that your mother was murdered in Rom yesterday?"

"Miss Granger, are you in a relationship with Draco Malfoy?"

"MISS GRANGER IS LATE FOR HER MEETING. BUGGER OFF!" She heard a loud shout come from behind her as most of the journalists went to move away, a few moved forward.

She felt his hand on her back as usual as they moved a little easier through the crowd and for those few seconds, she mentally screamed at herself for feeling a little safe.

"I thought you could use some help. Since you're going to be away for half hour, I thought I'd go see Parkinson in custody" he said and she instantly frowned as he pulled her into a small corner away from the glare of camera flashes and screaming news reporters.

"Are you sure that's wise Draco?" she asked with concern and worry flashing in her tired brown orbs. He rolled his eyes "Are you really in the position to be lecturing me about what's wise? It'll be fine Granger; I'm disturbingly calm this morning. Go have your little play date with George Bush and I'll see you later" he said.

She smirked a little and lent up to plant a small soft kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For knowing who George Bush is"

She could have sworn she saw a flicker of a smirk flit beautifully across his face as she turned to walk away. She felt selfish for smiling or feeling even slightly relieved when her mother was lying lifeless in a bag somewhere. That reminded her; she was not supposed to be thinking about her mother.

She was already feeling a little better though and having a purpose was helping her concentrate on the task in hand, getting justice for her mum.

* * *

><p>As she entered Kingsley's office, she immediately sensed that the chaos did not just exist in her head as about five different Aurors were rushing about, making notes and going over different pieces of parchment. The majority of them looked flustered and some had their sleeves rolled up, hair ruffled, glasses in strange positions on their faces and pencils tucked awkwardly behind ears. It was like these people had been working all through the night and it was only eight in the morning.<p>

She made her way through the bustle only to be greeted by a warm fatherly hug from a slightly overweight and unbelievably tall Kingsley. She hugged him back and had to compose herself to keep from bursting into tears and becoming the most pathetic person in all office.

"Hermione, I know it doesn't help but I want to offer my condolences. Your mother was most excellent and a very amazing person, much like yourself. I still think you should stay at home but I know you won't listen to me anymore than Draco will. I asked him if he could try and convince you; he simply told me that he would never get in the way of you doing what you want. Anyway, following the Narcissa Malfoy incident in the early hours of this morning, we are putting her in a safe house where she will have two full time live in Aurors looking after her. She was most displeased but agreed that it was for the best after Draco talked with her; that boy is the most persuasive person I have ever met! And I strongly advise that you accept protection as well. I will not force you to have anyone living in your house but I hope you'll take my advice in tightening your security to the maximum and having three employees watching your house twenty four seven" he said, ignoring people shuffling and moving about around them.

"Minister, I appreciate your concer-" "Please Miss Granger, ensure an old mans peace of mind?" he pleaded a little in that soft American voice that she simply could never resist.

"You aren't that old Kingsle-" "Hermione" he said impatiently but kindly and with concern. She sighed and nodded simply, watching with fascination as he clicked his fingers and three of the Admin-aurors sprung to his side and immediately ran out of the door to presumably get to work watching her house. He was the most respected man in the world and she loved him for it.

"Hermione, I'm guessing you've already insisted on dragging Draco down to Malfoy Manor later. Take great caution, this is a bit of an alarming sight and straight after…" he trailed off sadly and she shifted a little, biting on the inside of her bottom lip so she wouldn't start crying again.

"Yes, It's fine Minister, I would not be here if I did not think I could handle what my job entails" she replied a little shakily and allowed him to grasp both her hands one more time before she left him with a weak smile and a small wave to her colleagues still writing furiously on random bits of paper.

* * *

><p>"Tell me you got something for me Dean?" she asked, stepping over several CSI's sweeping the floor for clues as she entered Narcissa's bedroom with a tired and forlorn look on her beautiful but death stained features.<p>

"Hermione, looking ravenous as usual. Babe, I'm sorry abou-" "You know me better than that Dean, I don't need your apologies; I need your evidence" she said, cutting him off before he became the hundredth person that morning to apologize for her 'loss'. The boy did not take her off hand tone offensively and grinned at her.

"Do I get a thank you shag if I tell you I have something you'll love?" he asked and she rolled her eyes with an almost smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. "What do you think? Just tell me what you've found so far" she said and stepped over someone else so she could hear him properly.

"It's just like all the other scenes. No sign of forced entry, no signs of struggle, no signs the sadistic bastard touched anything apart from the wall. But there is one thing missing…" he trailed off a little as if he was asking her to finish his sentence.

She raised her head in understanding "No body" she said and he grinned at her.

"So, we searched the whole manor and there is nothing at all to indicate that the killer actually killed anything this time. But, we have found that this message was written with blood. Dragon blood on someone's fingertips. We ran a whole print check on every letter and we came up with something. We couldn't find anything on all the other messages because the killer had sandpapered and superglued their prints from the tips of their fingers. After a while though, glue melts with sweat and body heat and the prints grow back/ reform. Now it seems someone's been a little careless and left something for us. It doesn't match with any of the photocopies we've got on site of everyone related to this case that we have in custody now. This means that we have the killer's print. Now we just have to figure out whether the killer meant to leave it and is fucking with us or whether he actually is becoming impatient with getting your attention properly" Dean said. Hermione couldn't help it, she grabbed him round the neck and kissed him full on the lips. "You genius! I fucking love you! As.. a…friend obviously. But you amazing, brilliant man whore you!"

He laughed at her and sighed to her back, raising his eyebrows at a very confused looking Malfoy who had just come to the doorway to be enveloped in an extremely tight hug from Hermione who was on her way in the other direction.

"Granger, why are you manhandling me?" he asked, feeling her laugh at herself against him "Ask Dean. I'll see you back at the office in about fifteen minutes; we need to go over Remus's letters" she said, letting go of him and striding out behind him.

"How you manage to be permanently friends with that infuriating woman I will never know" Malfoy said to Dean as she disappeared out of the room. Dean narrowed his eyes and scowled a little "watch your mouth Malfoy" he said warningly. "I was simply inquiring as to how you tolerate her on a daily basis" Malfoy spoke back, his own tone a little less playful. "How do you?" Dean asked pointedly and Malfoy spat out a small sarcastic laugh "I don't tolerate her. We still argue like mad" Malfoy chuckled, a small fondness creeping dangerously back into his eyes as he talked of the muggle born witch who quite often invaded his thoughts.

"But you love her… like I do I mean. Sometimes I think more than Harry and Ron" Dean said with a casual shrug as he went back to examining the blood.

Seeing the message on the wall made a huge, possessive and dangerous bout of fury rise inside him; no one got to threaten his mother, no one.

"Down boy" he heard a tired yet joking and proud voice come from behind him and he snapped around to find Narcissa Malfoy lent casually against the door frame with a slightly troubled look haunting her typical blue eyes.

"Ms Malfoy, long time, no see. Looking good" Dean looked sideways at her with a small wink and she nodded a little, the trademarked smirk playing wisely and cunningly at the corners of her elegant mouth.

"Dean Thomas. Man child and total man whore. How lovely to have my home graced with your insufferable presence" she quipped and he laughed to himself, shaking his head a little and going back to his work.

Narcissa Malfoy had only grown more beautiful with time. She was in her late forties and still managed to maintain the inherited Black looks and Malfoy insolent elegance. Her face was slightly wrinkled and her age was now visible to the passing eye but it made her more intricate. The lines highlighting the soft skin around her pearly eyes told of her horror past but created an impression of extreme pride. Her skin was still pale as ever and her hair was still perfectly sun kissed blonde and her body was thin and softly curved which meant she could still pull off any dress or robe that she wanted to. She radiated with quiet confidence and feminine power while her structure was tinted with a hint of vulnerability. She was strong and cunning but still had the ability to feel pain and love along with the intense look of hate of evil and anything associated with the word. She wore a simple black night dress and a silk, deep, shimmering green dressing gown that was tied very loosely around her tiny waist. Narcissa Malfoy was the definition of imperfection. And it was perfect.

"Mother, why do you insist on making the workmen fall at your feet? Go put some clothes on or something" he sighed with a hint of demand to his sharp voice. She raised her eyebrows. "It's half past eight in the morning Draco, I have a right to wonder around my own house with my bed clothes on. My life does not stop at some dimwitted psychopath's pathetic attempt to scare me" she said back and he rolled his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and she narrowed her eyes a little, standing up with her hands on her hips "Fucking amazing Draco. Pfft 'how do you feel?' How do you think I'm feeling? The bastard who killed Marianne broke into my house and wrote on my bedroom wall in blood while I was asleep and I had no idea he was in here!" she exclaimed in a dignified manor.

Draco hissed in anger again and strode up to his mother, grabbing her elbow and pulling her down the grand marble staircase onto the third floor. He guided her roughly as she struggled angrily against his grasp before he let go of her, pulling them into a kitchen and locking the door behind them.

"Mother, will you put something on. You saw Thomas glaring at you" he snapped and she frowned "Thomas is a man slag, I wouldn't go near him… well, I just wouldn't" she said and he growled.

"Mother!" he warned again and she rolled her eyes in a bored way. "Fine, I'll go and put something on in a minute. What's your next request?" she asked and he surveyed her for a moment before walking towards her and pulling her into a warm hug.

She responded immediately when she felt him shaking a little against her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry it's come to the killer starting on you. I'm going to finish this, I promise. Me and Granger, we are going to stop this person" he said. He hated feeling so weak. This was him being a mess and his mother was the only person who knew of his characteristics when he was close to falling apart and going on a bit of a dangerous rampage.

She released him and gripped his biceps, holding him at arms length.

"I'm not the one who need's you Draco. Hermione need's you now. Speaking of which, would you please ask her if she would stay here tonight? I feel as though I haven't seen her in a long time and I'm in need of a bit of… what do the muggles call it?... Girl time" she said and he raised his eyebrows at her, forgetting his previous burst of slight emotion.

"Both of you in the same house… alone? Are you sure that's a good idea mother? You're both targets now" he said and she looked at him, letting go of his arms softly and turning to make herself a cup of tea. "It's okay Draco, both your girls will be safe" she smirked, turning to face him and leaning against the counter "You make me sound like some kind of muggle pimp" he muttered and she laughed. "I bloody well hope not. Anyway, do you have any idea how many wards they've put on this place now? Kingsley got most of your department down here this morning muttering incantations at the walls. The fireplaces are limited to you, Hermione, Kingsley, Harry, Arundo Thomson and Andie so it's all good"

"Hmmm… why do I feel like it's not so good then?"


	16. Chapter 16

"Thank you for this Mrs Malfoy, you really didn't have to" Hermione smiled warmly at the woman who had worked hard at helping her son regain the public's trust and now held up several successful businesses kept running by others while she enjoyed a well deserved early retirement at home.

"It's no problem Hermione and How many times do I have to tell you? It's Narcissa or Cissy! I haven't seen you in a little while, where have you been?" Narcissa asked.

Hermione still felt a little wary around Malfoy's mum, she still felt as though Narcissa was still getting used to the blood equality act and something of her old prejudices lay within her pearly blue eyes even if she smiled and mothered her with perfect acting skills. It was nice though, to have someone who was confident enough not to constantly tiptoe around her feelings or worry about saying the wrong thing; someone who actually wanted to spend time with her.

"Well, there was that thing in Egypt, I'm not how much Draco told you about that" she started and Narcissa's eyes seemed to harden slightly at the mention of that.

"Really, you'd think these people would know someone who wouldn't break for them when they saw them! Arundo worried about you, he said he thought there might be the aspect of… blood prejudice… involved" she said, her voice slowing down slightly and Hermione suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Well, I did wonder for the first few weeks. I thought maybe they caught me because… I'm muggle born. But I met this new girl they brought in; she was a complete mess, she was worse than me and she said she was from a very rich foreign pureblood family" Hermione said, choosing her words carefully but trying to sound confident at the same time.

"Well if it was about the old beliefs in blood, they were being stupid. Hermione, I can read people like books; it's one of the advantages of being a Slytherin. I am not blind, I can tell you're wondering whether I am as… open minded… as Draco. To tell you the truth, I was trained by an abusive husband to think that way; I never truly believed that you were weaker. There are plenty of arguments that would go against it; Lily Evans, Nymphadora, Remus Lupin. Most of all you. Hermione, I have found it difficult to forget what I thought for so long but I assure you, I would never judge you by your heritage ever again. You are Draco's friend and colleague and even Blaise speaks highly of you now. I know you better now and I think of you as a friend… not to mention Draco has the biggest crush on you…" she trailed off sneakily with a small knowing grin that made Hermione blush like a tomato.

"Well… thank you. I'm sorry I was wary before. Draco brought me back, we traveled for a bit because I wanted to recover and then we came back to London. Harry was very annoyed when I went back to work before my knee heeled" she said, trying to direct the conversation elsewhere. Narcissa seemed to sense her unease and accepted, smirking slightly. "Yes, Potter had become somewhat of a success hasn't he? And he's married to the Weasley girl as well now. Hmm, he drops in now and again to check that I'm okay. He sensed that I'd be targeted by this killer and I think he feels he owes me after what I did when the dark lord tried to murder him. Poor boy, he deserves a good life. So you came back to London. And why, pray tell, did you become a stranger? I missed a girl's opinion on Saturday nights. Draco ends up winning most of our tiffs… almost" she said, an expression of playful anger taking over her features.

"We've been so busy. We honestly haven't had time to see anyone for pleasure otherwise, I would have dropped round. Then I dumped Ron of course and we had to go up to Cannock and then there was the business with the reunion and then Rome…" she stopped abruptly, realizing she was straying dangerously close to the events of the last twenty four hours and she really didn't want to talk about that.

"Yes, I was upset about that. Your mother was just as beautiful as you and just as clever, how are you holding up?" she asked softly and Hermione blinked a couple of times to check that she wasn't about to burst into tears and crumble again.

"I lost it to tell you the truth. Draco took me home and then I just kind of… got up. That was when…" she stopped again and blushed, looking away and suddenly finding the emerald, marble fireplace extremely interesting.

"So you've just been busy. As long as I see you guys at least once a month, it's fine. Anyway, I didn't buy this… TV? For nothing! Teach me how to work this darn thing!"

* * *

><p>Hermione sat there, head in here hands, the tracks of much calmer tears sticking to her face as a few waves of hair joined with the salty wetness. She slammed he fist down on the table in frustration with a noise in between a growl and a sob. Her watch read three o'clock in the morning and she was still in the office. Malfoy had gone home four hours previous and she was now just repeating herself over and over.<p>

She was reading through the letters that Remus had found.

It read….

_'Dear brother,_

_Everything is moving rather swiftly on over here and I believe that our back up may just be our most genius yet._

_It will be our selection of course, that will bring down the whole of the muggle and muggle born society along with all half-breeds squibs and half bloods. It will be as we always pictured; Pureblood wizards ruling the planet. Voldemort is a mere convenience and has no real idea what he is doing. Dumbledore will be a problem of course and that stupid prophecy predicts an equal to Riddle but it's all good, Dumbledore won't be hearing of that for about thirty years._

_Again, I would like to stress the importance of your involvement. Your blood line is crucial to this. By then, there will be a trio guarding a filth filled world and only one of them really needs to be broken down; the mudblood. It is predicted that said person will be female so it won't be hard to snap her pathetic mind in two._

_You remember to pass this on to your son of course, and he onto his nephew or something. They must remain in the background and must be an impeccable actor. No one must suspect them and they must be thought of as ditzy and weak until the girls mother has been killed. Then they must become more active, they must gain more trust. If possible, the subject should make the girl fall in love with him. It will be difficult, the strike date will not be far from the date of the mother's death but it is important that the girl trusts him. She must break in the worst way possible; betrayal._

_Malfoy and his or her offspring must be threatened so they are preoccupied enough for the subject to get to the girl. Leave it a certain amount of time and still remain slightly hidden until the opportune moment to strike. They will never know until the last hour and she will die along with every other bastard who fills peoples head with equality rubbish._

_Remember this brother and it will work._

_It will.'_

Every letter was much like this, every one insulting any blood line below purity. She had noticed that there was not an ounce of sexually explicit content or mention of rape torture. So the leader was serious then… he really was a professional and yes, she had gathered that it was a he. She had also found that the handwriting in these letters, matched with Orion's letter her and Draco found in the archives so they were now aware that Orion had in fact been involved with the plan but was not at all in over his head. He was not the one crafting the plan but the one putting it in motion.

This made her think about why she had not checked the Black family blood line yet; it seemed the most obvious thing to do and yet she hadn't… why? Of course, it was because she was allowing herself to stray and miss the details that really mattered.

This was when she'd come onto the subject of her attraction to Malfoy. She was well aware that she liked him very much… more than she should for just a crush anyway and she had found herself thinking about what… well, what… 'It' would be like with him.

This was when she'd blushed and tried to get the less than appropriate picture of her and Malfoy out of her head as she felt a slight tingling between her thighs that was not a good sign or where her thoughts should be heading at 3AM.

She decided that she would take some energy shots from her purse and pretend that she'd simply come in early. She'd already apparated home to change and shower. The thing was, she just didn't want to sleep; she didn't trust her mind to let go.

She had her hair down now and she was wearing navy blue chinos and black brogues with a black vest and dark brown fitted blazer. If she wasn't sleeping, she at least wanted to look like she had been so no one worried about her.

She had come to the decision that she would actually… dare she say it… approach a relationship with… Malfoy? Dear god, what had the world come to?

But it was true as the light of day. Hopefully, in the next few days she could have a boyfriend. Narcissa would be bouncing the walls of course; she'd been calling for it to happen for weeks after the death of Marianne.

Hermione had also become more stressed because now, nothing was happening. No deaths, no threats, no attacks. Nothing. So she was working hard not to let herself be lulled into a false sense of security she knew did not exist.

Draco had spoken to Pansy on a number of occasions and they had found that she too was under the Imperius curse. When they had tried to sweep her memories for clues however, the bonds restricting her giving of information had broken and killed her. That had put Draco and Blaise in a foul mood of course and now three funerals had taken place, there was only one left. Hermione's mothers.

Hermione had 'Chad Kroeger's – Hero' picked out for the entering tune and she had hired a soul singer to blurt out a beautiful, slower and much less modern version of 'Ironik's – Stay with me' for the exit tune. She had her speech ready and Draco had prepared a poem to read. She had the grave chosen at the local muggle church cemetery of Hermione's home village and her father was just sane enough to attend; he was absolutely broken by the news of his wife's death and was not exactly… speaking to Hermione.

Harry and Ginny visited Hermione at her house frequently and she had long since held suspicions that Ginny and Harry were trying for a child. She just wished they would come out and announce it.

There had been Aurors swapping shifts to watch her house twenty four seven but it didn't matter anyway; she only went there on the odd occasion that she would actually sleep. In which case she would dose herself up on some strong dreamless sleep potion and lose herself for five stolen hours here and there. She still ate a regular breakfast, lunch and dinner but that was only because Malfoy practically shoved it down her throat.

Arundo Thomson visited her every few days to check how she was, along with Blaise (Much to Ron's displeasure), Ron, Narcissa, Kingsley and Percy who was now fully recovered and in fully glaring mode towards Malfoy. Dean came down to the office every day to annoy her and she loved it. She loved Dean; he was like her Gryffindor Malfoy. In the friend sense anyway and she wasn't sexually attracted to Dean in the slightest. He was her best friend aside from Harry and Ron and he could always make her smile even when she was in full Molly Weasley fury.

And before she knew it, her eyes were drooping and she was powerless to stop them as her head hit the desk in front of her, her hair flowed about on the shiny, varnished oak and reality was dead to her.

* * *

><p>"Granger?" a soft voice said as she felt the air hit her face and two masculine, long, pale fingers pulled her hair up so the owner of the hands could see if she was okay.<p>

She felt a very bad panging at the front of her head and her vision seemed strained and painful as she allowed her yes to flicker open.

"Malfoy?" she mumbled sleepily as she slowly raised her head to look at his amazingly cute boyish morning features. She liked him most in the mornings; he was moody, sarcastic, half awake and all ruffled. Just the way he should be.

"Granger, what are you doing? Did you sleep here all night?" he asked his voice still soft, knowing she would be rather sensitive. She tried to make her back move so she could sit up but it wouldn't move properly and her posture was clumsy and pathetic. Malfoy came around the other side of the desk and helped her a little though and once again, she was most grateful for his presence.

"I must have fallen asleep" she said a little croakily. He sighed impatiently "I thought we didn't lie to each other Granger? There's energy shots out on the desk and you've changed into a new load of your muggle fashion shit. You were going to work through the night and tell me you'd just got in early weren't you?" he said, voicing her plan perfectly. She hated how well he could read her; it made her feel vulnerable and powerless. It was also one of the main reasons that she liked him so much.

"Malfoy I hate you" she mumbled and he rolled his eyes "Yes, yes. I've heard it all before. Spare me your useless drabble, your old material is getting slightly boring" he said, standing up to full height and walking over to his own desk and levitating a Coffey to her desk while he took a bold swig of his own. She creased up her forehead to try and get the feel of her face again as she leant her elbows on the wood, her head resting in her hands as she rubbed her temples, trying to soothe her banging headache.

"You should drink that Coffey" he said curtly and shrugged his usual black jacket off on the back of his chair, revealing a white silk shirt that highlighted the lines of his muscular, if slightly lanky body perfectly. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, tightening the fabric around two very well shaped biceps and his soft, pale skin stood out like white granite in the flickering light of her Lumos and the golden flames of several tiny candles lighting the room.

"I think I'm ready to talk" she blurted out suddenly, remembering her decision on their relationship before she'd dropped off to sleep. He looked up at her with raised eyebrows and surprise written all over his face.

"What was that Granger?" he asked, hearing what she'd said the first time. "We need to work at the moment but you can come over this afternoon and we can talk" she said, not at all nervously; like it was just another part of their normal schedule.

"Granger, don't you think you should wait until after your mother's fun-" "No, come over to night or I'll leave the matter unresolved for the next ten years" she snapped and picked up her quill she'd been writing with the previous night to finish her letter to Luna.

She heard him mutter a few of his usual lines before going back to his own notes.

They stayed like this for half an hour in a casual, comfortable silence as both got immersed in their work. It was only at nine o'clock that Hermione pressed her little buzzer that activated the microphone going straight to their secretary's office.

"Cassie, please could you be a life saver and get me those files I asked Harry for last night on the Black family tree. Thank you" she said, feeling Malfoy's eyes on her as she went back to her work a little bitterly.

She saw him lean back on his chair as he carried on surveying her. "Granger missed the most obvious choice of action!" he teased and she growled a little, lifting her head "Shut it blondie. You missed it as well" she pointed out in a sharp voice that made him narrow his eyes. "I'm helpless with paperwork, you know that" he retorted and she smirked, her head going back to her paper as her quill scanned the elegant curves of her own writing. "What, pray tell, are you doing in the murder department as an Auror then? Paperwork is compulsory" she said, smiling to herself as she saw him scowl out of the corner of her eye.

"Mr Zabini intercepted your request for the files Miss, he left a message with Mr Potter saying he would bring them over personally" The secretary's voice informed from the mini speaker attached to Hermione's desk and Malfoy groaned "fucking great! Blaise at half eight in the morning on a high!" he exclaimed, dropping his forhead onto his desk in annoyance. She smiled to herself though, she was actually expecting there cunning yet slightly dimwitted friend to drop in today. She did not however, expect him to intercept her mail and file requests. That man really was as clever as Draco when he wanted to be, not to mention charming.

Sure enough, three minutes later, Blaise came barging into their office, clicking his fingers to magically close the door behind him as he shimmied himself backward onto Hermione's desk as he leant his body backwards to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Zabini, looking sexy as usual. What have you got for me today then; or rather, what do you want?" she asked with a playful smirk that could rival Malfoy's playing at the corners of her elegant, full mouth.

Blaise grinned beautifully "Do I need an excuse to see my brother and his gorgeous little Gryffindor on this glorious Friday morning?" he quipped back with a mock look of hurt on his soft, coloured facial features. "You either have some information from me or you want me to talk to the loan board at Gringotts so they can fund another one of your crazy new ideas" she said, dropping her quill and looking up at him with her eyebrows slightly raised.

"I really don't want anything; but you got me, I have some info you might be really interested in" he said, his eyes going more serious as he studied her face. She could tell he was checking to see if she'd been looking after herself but he did not comment on it as he knew she was ratty in the mornings.

"Okay, shoot me" she said and something flickered in his dark brown, sparkly depths as had shifted a little on his seat. "I got a call the other day. Five of them actually, all were silent apart from the whole creepy, scary breathing shit that psycho's do to scare you. Then… then I got another call. I recorded it actually" he said, flipping a small voice recorder out of his pocket and chucking it to her as she reached up and caught it before it hit her in the face. "You can listen to it later if you want and have Longbottom run it through voice recognition but it just says three words, Keep Watching Her" he said and she felt a shiver run down her spine; she knew who the speaker was talking about. He was targeting her again.

"Thank you Blaise. What else did you want Zabini?" she asked, looking at him expectantly and slight realization dawned on his handsome face and he reached into his pocket, pulling out about ten sheets of parchment.

"Gingernut started questioning about why I was getting your mail for you now. I think he thinks we're fucking" he said with a wide, cheesy grin. She tutted to herself and rolled her eyes "Jealous even when he's not in love with me. As if I'd go near you" she said and Draco laughed bitterly at that point.

"You were just telling me a few months ago that you thought Zabini was rather sexy Granger" Draco said and she glared at him from behind her desk. "Really, now that's something I won't be forgetting in a hurry. Thanks Dray" Zabini chuckled and Draco merely nodded, going back to his work again.

"Yeah that's right Draco, make him even more bigheaded" she murmured and Zabini raised his shaped and plucked eyebrows at her once more "trouble in paradise I see. Well, I'd best be going darlings, I have better places to be than helping you losers solve famous murder cases" he winked at her and jumped off her desk, ruffling her hair as he went bouncing back out the door.

"What was that about?" she asked, giving him a reproachful look as he glared daggers at her yet again.

"I don't know what you're on about this time Granger but I don't like it. Shut the fuck up before we end up arguing again" he snapped and she slammed her hand down on the table.

"I knew you'd be difficult about this. Right, Cassie, leave a message to Harry. Tell him me and Draco have gone out for breakfast. We'll be back in about an hour" she said, pressing her buzzer again and standing up to grab her coat.

"Move your arse then. Or I could move it for you, whichever you prefer; actually, don't answer that question, come on" she said and for some reason, he found himself obeying her.

* * *

><p>"I don't understand what you want me to say Granger" he said in a hushed voice and she almost groaned again. He really wasn't very good at the in-depth shit. Then again, neither was she.<p>

"We aren't children anymore; I won't skip up to you in the playground and giggle at you before asking you to be my boyfriend. I'm just saying… I don't think that… incident was a heat of the moment thing" she said, trying her hardest to be mature and not to blush.

"Is that Granger language for 'I really want to fuck you Draco because you're oh so dreamy' really?" he said, that sexy fucking smirk on his face again as she felt like hitting him over the head with her fork. She growled at him, a venomous look on her blushing face as he inwardly laughed.

"No, well… yes, no. Oh shut the fuck up you insufferable git-" but he cut her off by catching her lips in a soft yet fierce kiss as he lent across the table. Again, it was like she was floating on the clouds and all that fluff that came with it. God! She hadn't really realized what a fucking cliché she'd become. She didn't mind though if it meant she got to be girlfriend the one of the most lusted after wizards in England. Ahh, fuck it!

He broke away from her with a smile against her lips "Whatever Granger, can we go back to work now or are you going to blow your own head off trying to explain your feelings for me?" he said and she grinned back.

"Fuck you Malfoy"

"Not till tonight, Potter would be rather pissed off if we ruined such nice desks"


	17. Chapter 17

HI!

Mostly about the relationship again. The plot will pick up some more in the next few chapters, I'm lulling everyone into a false sense of security ;). Naa, I'm just trying to drag it out a bit so I make the story slightly longer. About six or seven chapters left now me thinks, maybe a little less, I'm not sure.

Review my little awkward turtles! REVIEW I TELL YOU!

P.S I will read back on this tomorrow and think 'what a twat' but I'm a little hyped up on sugar and I'm all excited for this party I'm going to in a few weeks!

Dee xxx

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><p>Love can be drawn even from the worst of enemies; sometimes that is what makes them enemies in the first place ~ ME! I was so proud of this and my friend was like 'WTF DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? FREAK!' :L<p>

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><p>Draco Malfoy woke abruptly when the feeling of a familiar room that didn't belong to him roused what was left of his consciousness before he realized; he didn't have a headache and he'd slept very, very well for the first time in almost a year.<p>

He had also established that he was naked, covered only by a soft quilt and he was lying on a memory foam mattress; a muggle idea that, as he'd hated to admit it, was totally ingenious.

Then, as the muggle traits of the bedroom he was in made him open his eyes, he remembered.

He was in Granger's bed.

He moved his head sideways on the pillow and found her face down into her own pillow, her bare back rose and fell gently and steadily in perfect sync with the soft wind blowing against the window outside. He could smell it as well; the cool, musty after smell of sex and lust as it wafted through his sinuses and soothed his brain further. Something in him was still screaming that this was so, so wrong. But now, it was mixed with visions of her perfect smile and thick, wavy curls woven in with the memory of the night he'd been dreaming about regrettably for weeks.

They would get so much shit from Potter and Weasley when they got to work and he didn't suppose Kingsley would be too happy with all the problems they would have with the press and reporters.

To be perfectly honest though, he couldn't give a shit.

He couldn't give a shit because he was laid in his girlfriend's bed, stark naked and more relaxed than he'd been in a very long time.

He looked the other way at the clock on the bedside table. It read 7:30 and he knew they'd have to get up. He didn't want to wake her because she'd barely slept at all since her mother's death but he knew she'd kill him if they were late for work and then rant about their relationship affecting their work because she was annoying and stubborn. But she was his.

"He pulled himself into a sitting position and retrieved his boxers from the chocolate coloured carpet and pulled them on, standing up and stretching noiselessly. He walked to the foot of the bed and yanked the quilt straight off the bed. He smirked in appreciation of her pert bottom for a split second before she started to stir.

"MALFOY!" she shouted in a muffled voice against her pillow and she sat up fast, pulling his shirt on and grabbing the nearest pair of knickers to wear. "Yes Granger?" he asked innocently in his normal stoic voice as he smirked at her yet again; she really did look good in his shirt.

"What do you think you are playing at, waking me up in such a cruel way and then perving on me in my sleep!" she exclaimed, flinging her arms in the air.

He chuckled to himself and took her by the waist as she wrapped her arms around his bare neck, still pouting. "You know I don't give a shit whether you're angry with me or not. We need to go to work and if I'd have made you late, you would have ripped my balls off" he said and she glared at him "I have a use for them now so I wouldn't go that far. But thank you… I guess. But I don't like the cold being the first thing I notice in the morning" she shivered slightly against him as he leant his forehead casually against hers "Is there another way you'd like me to wake you up for future reference?" he asked with a cheeky smirk. She slapped his muscular collar bone and made him release her so she could wonder into the en suit, running her fingers through her soft curls subconsciously as she went.

"A nice way that WON'T make me decidedly late for work" she replied loudly as he pulled on the jeans he'd been wearing when he'd come over to 'discuss' their newfound 'understanding'. Strangely, they had actually agreed to terms.

shouldn't let it endanger the development of the case.

weren't going to keep it quiet, it should have been anticipated really but he was not to make any comments on Potter, Weasley or Thomson that would make the situation ten times worse.

sex in the office.

He had not been overly happy about the last one but had agreed to it anyway to shut her up. Not that the sound of her inevitable rants wasn't annoyingly endearing or anything, he just had a slight headache and could simply not be bothered to have a screaming match at eleven o'clock at night.

"Granger I'm just going to floo home and get dressed. I'll be back in ten minutes" he called and he heard her grunt of acknowledgement as she brushed her teeth.

* * *

><p>They stepped out of the floo almost straight after each other and, much to their dismay but not to their surprise, the press still swarmed the atrium with their video and camera equipment, fishing for a story they could pin on the increasing drama of the young ministry worker's lives.<p>

He growled in frustration and laced his fingers through hers almost instinctively and dragged her forward. He brought her closer so they wouldn't get lost among the manic throng eating up any twat that wanted to get to their office enough to face it.

The gesture sent journalists into a frenzy as they began to move slower through the crowd. He hissed and pulled her to him properly, his arm going around her waist to pull them through the last of the reporters.

He knew he'd have to sort something out about the gossip of course but he was tired and now he just wanted to work.

Hermione was still looking through generations of Blacks as they bred so frequently. It was actually very unlike pureblood families to have so many offspring but Hermione had taken great pleasure in telling him he was related to one of the most un-pure pureblood families existing. A whole half of the children born since Orion had branched off into muggle or muggle born families, all producing halfbloods or less.

He released her when they'd pushed through the double doors leading to their department's third corridor and they fell into an easy step beside each other. Their fingers weren't laced together as neither were big fans of PDA or anything but now and again their hands would brush and both would hide a small smile or smirk at the trail of fire it left behind on their skin.

They came to their office and he entered first, walking straight to his desk to see what notes or paperwork were left for him to fill in for the day. He found a letter from the Prophet asking for an interview on Marianne's death and on his mother's message from the killer. Immediately, he crumpled it up and threw it in their fireplace. He could feel Hermione's eyes watching his still stood form as he glared at it for a few seconds until he was sure it was just a pile of ash before turning around to walk around and sit in his chair a little more moodily to get started.

She didn't ask him what it was that he'd burned which surprised him because normally she would have done. It was good that she was not always too predictable though, she would be quite boring if he could always guess what she was going to do next.

Just as he had the ink on his quill to fill out the final papers of Marianne's post mortem results and all the evidence, Potter came crashing into the room looking very flustered, barely awake and extremely angry.

"Potter! What do you think you're doing?" Malfoy asked, annoyed at his bosses sudden and unconventional entrance; most of the time he knocked.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why do I have to find out from the flipping reporters as I come into work? Do I even need to tell you how unprofessional this is?" he shouted at Hermione, walking up to her desk and slamming his hand down, leaning forwards to get in her face.

"Potter, with all due respect, get your hands away from that desk before I rip them off" he shot, his voice equally as sharp, angry and sadistic.

"I have to remind you that I am your boss Malfoy. Don't think I wont fire you once this case is over if you put a single toe out of line" he snapped back.

"I was telling you not to be a bastard to her. She was going to tell you tonight, we weren't expecting to have that many reporters showing up this morning. How the bloody fuck to they manage to get into the atrium anyway? They need that stupid fucking badge and a good reason to enter the ministry right?" he said exasperatedly, still looking angry.

"I don't know. I'm working on tightening security at the moment with Kingsley. It would have been nice to get a phone call warning at least though" Harry said, his voice hoarse but a little softer than it had been before and he took himself away from her desk to look at the both of them.

"You do realize Ron is going to try and kill you both with his bare hand's right?" Harry said with a sigh as he bowed his head and ran his fingers through his hair tiredly.

"Well, I see no rule breaking. I don't think you're in violation of any code or anything. I don't condone this though, I don't like it but I trust that you're both old enough and mature enough to make your own decisions wisely so I can't exactly force you apart" he said. Draco nodded curtly and simply looked at Harry, waiting for him to leave the room.

"Do you want me to get rid of the journalists?" Harry asked and Draco tutted to himself.

"That's a bit of a stupid question Potter"

"Shut it Malfoy"

* * *

><p>It was coming dangerously close to nine o'clock at night and they had fallen into the usual comforting and peaceful silence that had made them such good work partners for so long.<p>

The television was on just loud enough for them to hear easily and Hermione was engrossed deeply in one of her far-fetched muggle dramas. Draco was briefly following the plot. Some crazy and stupid woman had her baby die so she'd swapped it with her friend's baby in the cot.

Draco could not help but find it unrealistic and had lost interest when the mother of the baby that was alive had swallowed the lie, believing that her baby was dead. If something that precious was stolen, one would surely notice that it had been replaced. Especially something as dear as a three day old child.

So he'd simply closed off the ramblings of East end accents as Granger lay comfortably against him on her sofa while he subconsciously played with a soft lock of her wavy, brunette hair.

He'd missed this. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he did. In the last year, when he'd had the time, he'd been bed hopping between about three different women in a fortnight. Neither of them had been girlfriend material and had been either hair pullingly boring or a silly, dumb, screaming fan girl with no brain whatsoever. He knew why he couldn't be particularly attracted to any of them of course, he knew now he'd had eyes for Granger for longer than he originally thought but again, he'd never admit that out loud.

He liked her; that much was obvious. She was fiery and stubborn and difficult to handle but she was sensible and bookish and compassionate and good-natured. But for the moment, he was trying to remain as detached as possible. She was having a strange affect on him; he found himself having these moments where he was forgetting about being Draco Malfoy. Forgetting about being himself and forgetting to remain guarded. He found himself letting down his guard now and again, letting her in.

This was required in every relationship of course to a certain extent, he just wasn't always comfortable with it; his previous relationships had been based mostly on sex and the fact that him and the girl in question were in the same house, same age or both deatheater and needed some form of comfort or release.

He'd never been in a serious relationship where there was nothing burdening it. Well… nothing too bad anyway. Unless you counted the girls mother being dead due to a murder case they were investigating or his ex-girlfriend being found dead with 'glory whore' written over her body in blood as 'bad'.

He noticed that Hermione's breathing had slowed and came in slow, soft puffs against the fabric of his t-shirt. She was asleep.

He gently manoeuvred them so he was in a sitting position and lifted them both upwards so he could carry her to her bedroom. As usual, her small yet strong body felt plush and warm against his but he had realized that some of the time, these feelings were not sexual; a force kind of pulled him to her and sought out her body heat just as a vice, something to assure him that he still had one good thing in his life, something light and real for him to hang onto. He sounded soppy and pathetic but he honestly didn't know what he'd do without her now he knew what it was like to have her this close.

He lowered her onto the bed and he climbed in after her. He had only ment to lay there to watch over her as he did not like leaving her alone what with all the threats and evidence suggesting she was a target, but she instantly moved sideways, her eyes still closed, to cuddle into him and his arm autimatically went around her.

He decided at that point. No matter what happened between them or to them, this was how he'd picture her for the rest of his life. This was how he wanted to remember her face. Completely void of frustration and hate (unlike his own) and totally absorbed in a world where she could be safe; a world where nothing could harm her, nothing could torment her, nothing could tarnish her purity or brightness. Of course, that world could never be reality but what happened behind closed eyelids was for her to draw comfort from and for him to get all sentimental about when she couldn't see him.

He hated himself for thinking that way, hated himself for letting it get to this point, hated himself for all the things he'd done to her, hated himself full stop. And it really was fucking with his head. Because now… now things were changing again. Things were morphing into new shapes, totally different to what they were before. What he thought he knew about the world was turning out to be a load of bullshit yet again; what he thought he knew about himself.

Life was a bitch. Fact.


	18. Chapter 18

DEWDS!

Sorry! This turned into another relationship chapter again! I'll make it up to you I promise, the next one will be better but it's late and I'm tired and I just got a drunken call from my friend telling me that if she was a lesbian and so was I then she would fuck me :L (don't be alarmed, she wants to fuck everyone when she's drunk) so give me a little bit of credit.

Anyway, let me know what you think my little darlings!

And, as always, thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it!

Deeexxxxx

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><p>If love is what defines us… then what does hate do?<p>

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><p>Harry Potter woke abruptly at three o'clock on Saturday morning. His face was covered in sweat and the remains of fright induced tears and his eyes were tired and wide with momentary adrenaline.<p>

He'd been dreaming again.

The thing was, even though he was still breathing fast and quick, he couldn't remember what he'd been dreaming about. Then again, he woke up like this every morning and it was always the same reason. The past still haunted him.

Someone such as Harry James Potter could never be truly happy even if they had everything they'd wanted. The past would remain in the shadows, mere ghosts lingering, lodged within the back of his nasal passage. A cancer cell that was dormant and dead but would never leave; a reminder, a whisper, a memory, a burned photo.

Not even Ginny and her hushed talks of reassurance bringing him back to reality could chase away the lost trails of voices and banished thoughts that had disappeared along with their creators. He could feel her though; smell the after shower remains of her floral perfume mixed with her own sent which he thought was a perfect combination of old tobacco and roses. She was still asleep, her hips and back moving in rhythm with her slow breaths as her bright red hair lay sprawled out in soft, shiny, crimson shades on the white pillow, only just visible in the dark confines of their bedroom.

They lived in a flat on the outskirts of the river Thames but were scheduled to move into Grimmauld place as soon as Ginny was pregnant. They were actually trying for a baby but they hadn't told anyone yet even though Harry was almost sure Hermione already knew; she had the most perfect intuition he'd ever seen on one of his Aurors, it almost rivalled Malfoy's.

He didn't like their relationship at all. He'd forgiven Malfoy after the war when his mother had saved him during the battle of Hogwarts but he only trusted him because he knew Malfoy more now. Harry knew Malfoy respected him as a boss if not as a person so he was 100% sure that he would not betray him or anything anymore. He did not particularly enjoy the idea of his childhood enemy dating his best friend and sister in everything but blood though, he did not like it at all.

Ginny had smiled knowingly and simply stared at the TV when he'd charged into their living room ranting about it and he hadn't seen Ron since he'd told him. He'd never seen him look so angry and yet so composed.

Ron's face had stayed frozen in its previous expression but his eyes burned a raging, relentless fire matching with his hair which was practically standing on end in anger. His hands balled up into intense fists, his knuckles going pure white with fury. He had swallowed and it looked like it had taken him great effort to speak after that as his body just managed to refrain from shaking.

"Thank you Harry" he had said and then turned to lock himself in his bedroom and smash everything up for an hour.

As long as Hermione was happy and content enough to work properly, everything was fine. The moment she stopped working, Harry knew something would be going incredibly wrong in her head or around her. Then again, he wanted her to take time off. She was overworking herself along with the young Malfoy heir but he could not exactly force them not to keep making excellent progress. Which, to be honest, they were.

There had been some cases not as bad as this that not even Kinglsey had been able to progress so much on so little time into it. They were the best and so if they wanted to work, he would have to let them.

He doubted they'd stop pursuing it even if he did suspend or fire them both, they would see it through to the end or die trying.

And that's exactly what Harry was most afraid of.

* * *

><p>"I've got some other people processing the letters from Orion to see if there's any hidden meaning or anything. I'm observing the people around me more but there are so many people trying to support me, I have no idea who this 'subject' is" she sighed, signing her name at the bottom of yet another refusal letter for an interview and a photo shoot for the Prophet, witch weakly and even a couple of quidditch magazines wanting them to model their new leather wear as a couple.<p>

Some of the sums of money they'd been offered were off the roof but she did not want to encourage the public to talk about them too much. It was difficult enough for Hermione to get around without having Draco's dim-witted fan girls trying to kill her besides being famous. She just wanted to have as much of a normal relationship as she could with him. So they slept back and forth from each other's houses, flooing almost everywhere now and only going out when they were scheduled for a date or an appearance at some kind of promotional ball for one of Draco and Narcissa's business contacts.

She used to read magazines as a child, seeing pictures of Katy Price and Peter Andre moving hand in hand, sunglasses on and in midwalk, showing the world their relationship. She could not help but enjoy seeing some pictures of her and Draco plastered over the wizard tabloids, some of them were even quite flattering.

She remembered the whole 'midwalk' and look preoccupied one of them on a night out in lumina noctem square which was kind of like the main wizard place for nightclubs and posh resteraunts. There was one of them at a kind of ball and she was wearing a dark red backless, strapless gown held up by a charm she'd perfected herself and him in an extremely expensive wizard brand of black shirt and a fitted blazer with jeans and black converses finished off with a shakespear style scarf hung loosely from his neck. She was laughing against his chest with a champagne glass in her hand, her head leant between his collar bones as he rested his chin on her head, a hidden kind of amused smirk on his handsome face. The title of the front page read 'Dramione – still going strong' and the caption had said nothing but how good looking they both were and how they were like the 'Rhianna and Chris Brown of the wizarding world'. Bullshit of course, Hermione could not and would never be able to sing and she deffinately did not wear bikini's made out of liquorish allsorts in public. Malfoy would never beat her up and then blame it on his upbringing... well, never again anyway. But they were not going to hide from the world; they were together, whether society liked it or not.

"Well when you do, let me know first so I can kill him with my bare hands" he said darkly and half of her didn't doubt for a second that he actually would. But she knew draco was not a killer, and she knew he would not let his hate for the person doing this jeapordise the 'subjects' slow breakdown in Azkaban.

"Well there will be a large que for people to have their turn after you, believe me. But fine, I promise I won't make the same mistake and get sexually trafficated around the world again, blahdeblahdeblah" she said, rolling her eyes and ignoring his anger at her loose talk of her turmoil. She was begining to realize that her disappearance had had more of an affect on him than he cared to really ever admit, even to himself.

They'd been together for a month now and it seemed like they had been at it for the whole time they had known each other. She felt something more than 'like' for him now and was a little scared that she might be falling for his rediculously bad moods, sulks, stoicness, caring, secretly growing good nature just a little bit too early on in their relationship.

Christmas was coming up actually and the rain had subsided into snow, leaving behind a lot of wet floor which ment that it was more mushy than powdery and was dangerously slippery. Hermione had found it very annoying that there were no gritters in wizard society and although they spent most of their time in the muggle world, there were the few area's dotted around London that were almost completely inaccesable and inconveniently closed off.

"Granger" he warned and she smirked to herself, waving her wand to seal the envelope and buzzing Cassie to tell her that she needed the letters sending off to various newspapers.

"Why do we keep that girl?" he asked in an agitated voice and she narrowed her eyes "She's one of the sweetest people I've ever met" Hermione replied and he brought his hand up to his heart in mock sadness "how ever will I explain that my girlfriend turned lesbien with our secretery?". She growled at him and threw and empty ink bottle at his head. He caught it at the last second without a single flinch of course and he simply grinned at her, a beautiful defiant and smug sparkle in his icy depths as he watched her go a little red. He knew she had a weakness for the whole 'super fast reflexes' thing. He'd observed her when they were watching some muggle film about a tank of a bloke who drove fast cars.

"Smug bastard"

"you love it" he retorted and she opened her mouth to argue before closing it again and picking up her quill to doodle on her parchment distractedly.

"Silent all of a sudden?" he asked, the grin not fading from his pale, gorgeous face as he watched her trying to ignor him. He still found it hilarious winding her up and he enjoyed hearing her having to admit that she was wrong about things. That much remained from their childhood relationship if anything.

"I hate you" she spat and he nodded "Right back at you dear. Are we getting lunch today?" he asked nonchalantly and sarcastically. She pouted angrilly as her hair began to frizzle.

"I hate you" she repeated and he frowned a little then, she couldn't be serious.

"Sure you do" he said, trying to keep his guard up.

"I do" she moaned and he felt relief wash over him, stupid bastard, he knew she didn't hate him really.

"Right that's why we have amazing sex almost every night Granger. And that's why you spend time with my mother getting to know her, and that's why you come to all these work do's even though you hate them and that's why you've been happier than I've seen you in a long time since we got together then" he put it to her like it was a fact of life but he knew he was treading dangerously close to one of his 'moments' as the conversation flooded out of his brain, the words only registering after they'd escaped his lips.

"I do that to keep you quiet" she mumbled, playing with her thumbs.

"Really?" he asked and she looked up at him then, something unfamiliar in her eyes, something new. It was beautiful and dazzling but dark and dangerous at the same time. It hit his nerve cells and set them all on fire as the hairs all over his body stood on end. She most certainly didn't hate him.

"Yes" she said.

For some reason he felt the need to coax something out of her, he wanted to know what this unknown emotion was in her eyes.

"I don't think you do" he said, slightly louder and he foudn himself rising out of his seat. "What did your mother do with your father hmm?" she said and he was not expecting this. The argument was originally ment to be playful but now they were both on their feet and she looked shocked at herself.

"I'm so sorry Draco" she whispered, her hand going to her mouth in a small whimper. He had forgiven her the instant she'd said it of course but now there was uncertainty and it made him angry.

"Is that really why you're with me then? Because you knew I wouldn't ever shut up about that kiss? Because you don't have to do all that Granger, I'd rather you just fuck off now if you feel nothing for me" he almost shouted, his word breaking into her heart like shards of ice as that tingling in her stomach started up and she felt sick.

"I'm not Draco. I'm really not. You mean a lot to me... you know that. Draco? You know that... right?" she said, her voice soft as she walked up to him and cupped his face with her right hand. He moved away though and she worked hard not to cry.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else there is to say. If you're this upset about it then obviously you feel nothing for me" she said. He whipped his head up to her.

"Don't be so fucking stupid Granger. I don't waist my time with people I feel nothing for, unlike you" he spat and she glared at him. They were face to face now and she could feel the anger and body heat rolling off them and mixing together in the atmosphere as it always did when they fought.

"What do you feel for me then Malfoy huh? Do you hate me?" she asked and he looked practically venomous by now; she half expected steam to start coming out of his ears. HE looked away from her again and she whimpered once more "oh god you do"

"I don't hate you"

"You do!"

"No I fucking don't!"

"Yes you do! You hate m-"

"I LOVE YOU!"


	19. Chapter 19

It was a clear, dark night and the stars were set perfectly next to the bright moon, the exact definition of define proportion. It was bitterly cold; skin bitingly cold and the absence of body heat in the abandoned, broken down muggle alley way just made it even more unbearable for the one human presence stood simply and totally still slap bang in the middle. His posture was tall and lanky but several muscles dotted all around his broader physique were hidden well underneath this man's dark, shapeless cloak. He needed everyone to think he was weak, even his little pawns.

He was unnaturally stone like. To any normal person walking passed, it would have appeared that the man did not even have a pulse. He was human though… actually, that depends, can a human carry out such genius when in love with its victim? Could a human be that evil?

It didn't matter, the thought's in his head were unimportant compared to the orders he was about to give.

Almost as if on cue, another cloaked figure appeared at the other end of the alley and walked briskly towards its leader, no haste in its step whatsoever.

"I'll cut the pleasantries if you don't mind. It's working. Hermione is falling in love with Malfoy but he's still a little preoccupied with his mother. We do it tomorrow evening. I just need you to make sure Malfoy's off the scene for the necessary amount of time" he said in a cold, emotionless, uncaring voice.

The hood hid his face but just the voice of the speaker had the accomplice on edge and extremely uneasy.

"Very well… I will call you when I am ready" the other man said and before anything else could be said, he apparated away as fast as he possibly could.

* * *

><p>"What did you say?" She breathed out and watched with disbelief as he cursed to himself, turning around and pacing the room as if she wasn't even there.<p>

"I'm talking to you" she said, her voice annoyed and shocked as she stood there simply observing his troubled and furious posture.

"For fuck sake Granger, you heard exactly what I said" he shouted, running his fingers through his hair and leaning over his desk for support, his back was to her.

There weren't many words to describe the feeling when someone who you'd hated most of your life turned around and told you they were in love with you. It triggered several things that made her heart beat faster than she ever thought possible. Tears of mixed emotions sprung into her eyes but did not fall and she felt her cheeks grow hot for reasons she could not understand.

She felt many things for Malfoy on a daily basis; anger, resentment, lust, happiness, admiration, reluctance… maybe… maybe that unknown thing lingering in her gut and clouding her judgement so much had just been defined. Maybe, for the first time in her life… she was truly in love.

She blinked a few times with the realization that something in her life had just changed forever and she wasn't that worked up about it and walked towards him, grabbing his face to turn him around. Without thinking, without understanding why, she kissed him.

The world stopped. She was absolutely sure of it. The world had stopped and the only living things left in the world were her and Malfoy. Nothing else mattered, nothing else registered apart from the feel of his lips against hers and the eagerness of the kiss. The way he was kissing her now was like he'd never kissed her before and it was filled with forbidden promises and pure, hair-raising, spine chilling love.

After what felt like hours, they broke apart and she hugged him, her arms snaking softly around his neck as his own went tightly, bracing around her waist. It was weird, she'd never noticed before but their body's fit together. The winds, twists and curves of her torso, hips and legs moulded neatly and perfectly into the contours of his own tall, muscular body and she could not help drowning in his natural sent as it fogged her brain and relaxed her, chasing away any remains of anger from their previous argument leaving only them; living in the moment.

"I love you too"

* * *

><p>"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT HERMIONE?" Ron bellowed across her sitting room, making her jump out of her skin as she was walking from the bathroom to the hall.<p>

"Excuse me?" she asked, startled, confused and angry as she heard Malfoy shift slightly upstairs.

"MALFOY!" he shouted, like it was the obvious answer to her question and like she should have known what he was yelling about in the first place.

She narrowed her eyes angrily at him and glared deeply into his furious golden eyes. He walked a bit further towards her and looked her up and down, taking in Malfoy's blue checked shirt and her bare, slightly weak legs from whatever they'd been doing the night before.

"I don't believe my love life has anything to do with you Ronald" she exclaimed, subconsciously trying to flatten her ridiculously messy bed hair. "We were getting married Hermione! Of course it has something to do with me!" he shouted again and this time she sensed Malfoy's presence awakening at the noise of her ex-fiancés screaming.

"Granger?" a sleepy voice called from her bedroom upstairs and Ron's eyes widened with even more anger as she sighed deeply and walked to the doorway leading off to were the call had come from.

"Its fine Draco, go back to bed. I'll be up in a minute" she called back trying to keep her tone controlled and friendly. She heard him lying back down on the bed and then she turned back around to see Ron still stood there looking straight at her, a disgusted look on his face.

"Surely you would have guesses something was going to happen Ronald. Ginny, Dean, Neville and Narcissa noticed that there was something more than friendship even before we did" she said matter-of-factly. He tutted and flinched slightly at her casual use of Malfoy's mother's first name; it reminded him that she found their relationship normal and barely even remarkable, like people dated their childhood enemies all the time.

"I don't give a shit who anticipated it Hermione, it's wrong and vile. You must see that" he said, his voice slightly pleading now and she slapped him hard. The sound echoed all around the room and she knew Draco would sense a proper disturbance in her emotions now and she was grateful he was refraining from marching down the stairs to murder Ron.

"The only person who sees that is you Ronald. We fought with Draco for so long because he was prejudiced and mean. Now you're the one being prejudiced and you expect me to actually listen to what you're saying when you turn up at my house at half six in the morning smelling of alcohol and shouting at me, waking up my boyfriend and half the neighbours" She shouted back and turned on her heel, walking out of the room.

Ron stared ahead of him rubbing his jaw looking tired and shocked… was she right?

* * *

><p>Hermione was re-reading all her notes from the past four or five months as she lay out on her sofa. Draco was still asleep and it was considerably early in the morning; last time she'd checked the clock, it had read 3:45AM and that had been about five hours previous. Her hair was softer than normal because they'd just gone straight to sleep the night before; no love making. And she did feel peaceful if terribly tired and restless.<p>

She came across a small newspaper cutting showing her being dragged through the crowd by Malfoy and Thomson following closely behind them. It had been taken on the day of their arrival back to the city of London after their month long journey back there from France as she recuperated. She absent mindedly traced Draco's face with her finger. It was soft yet tense as always and he worked to remain composed as the reporters tried as ever to close in on them like a heard of hyena's on cocaine.

Thomson looked barely affected by the publicity and actually, he looked quite relaxed and in his element. She wondered why that was because any normal person would be angry, annoyed, and tired and would not have the required amount of patience to deal with such frivolity at that moment in time. From what she knew, Thomson was normally calm unless insulted or rattled purposely, at which point the person talking to him would find their selves rolling around on the floor sporting broken ribs or at the end of his wand waiting for him to kill them… literally. He also loathed the press. He hated everything to do with them… so why was he so chilled in this picture?

She sighed and realized she was wondering over pointless things again and moved the report aside to view a picture of the writing on Cho's living room wall. The dark red letters made her skin crawl and she felt bile churning in the pit of her stomach but she forced herself to look closer at the part of the room visible to her.

She scanned the walls for any further clues or markings and nothing occurred to her. Then, she let her eyes wonder over the floor and found the rug pushed over at the edge like someone had scuffed it while walking passed it. Something flashed in her minds eye and she looked sideways down at her own rug, seeing it scuffed over just like the one in Cho's lounge. He had visited her and Draco just hours ago. Her tummy stared tingling again and her fingertips went numb. It couldn't be, she would have seen it coming right? She would have felt some kind of evil around him, felt his rage or pleasure at her suffering.

She flicked fast through the pages, sitting up and grabbing the ones from the Coffey table as she found the document she was looking for. A normal letter wishing her a fast recovery and a brief update on what was going on down in his own department.

The problem was, the way the T was written and the way the senders p's had been rounded all matched up to the message on Chang's wall. Then she flicked through again to find the black family tree she'd had Harry send her. Her finger traced fast over about ten different branches before she came to the last one possible for any link to the killer and the child seemed to be removed; blacked out on the photocopied parchment.

She stopped herself though, knowing she was getting carried away and caught up in the conclusion she had jumped to. She stood up and sprinted up the stairs, rushing fast into her room and grabbing the doorway in momentary shock when she saw Draco gone from her bed. She noticed a note on his pillow and ran forward to pick it up and read it.

_'Granger,_

_I've gone out to the manor to have breakfast with mother; she's not having a very good morning. I'm going to go and pick up some more notes from the office and then I'm having a few drinks with Percy and Bill Weasley later, they said something about building bridges and I knew you'd kill me if I'd said no so I'll see you about seven o'clock tonight._

_Malfoy'_

She felt alone. Like the house was completely empty. She knew Crookshanks was downstairs of course but she felt exposed. Up until that business with the gangsters, she had always felt independent and able to look after herself. She had learnt now that courage and determination did not make you invincible.

Now Malfoy wasn't in all day and she could not help but feel lost. Normally she wouldn't have cared but after her little brainwave she no longer felt safe in her own home.

Then she remembered, she had left the fireplace unguarded and the wards were still open for him. She sprinted across the bedroom, apparating into her living room as the stairs seemed too long for such an important tiny trip.

She reached for her wand from the Coffey table and lifted it to the fireplace.

She opened her mouth to speak the incantation that would keep him out but before she could say anything, a strong, thick arm threaded around her waist from behind and she lifted her legs off the floor kicking and screaming as the man growled in annoyance and gripped her more firmly, crushing his hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" a voice shouted against her ear and it was only when a knife was pressed to her neck that she obeyed him with a soft, shaky and terrified whimper.

His arm was a vice caged around the bones of her tiny waist and the hold was painful, bruising would be inevitable in this case.

She no longer tried to thrash but kept her head up, stretching her neck to keep the pressure from the knife cutting into her skin. She had been in this situation countless amounts of times but for some reason, this one scared her the most. This one hurt the most because she was very aware that someone she had formally trusted was threatening to take her life slowly and painfully. He pulled her hair back and kicked her feet from underneath her, coaxing a strangled cough of pain, fear and anger from her vocal cords.

"YOU BASTARD! I FUCKING TRUSTED YOU!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears falling thick and fast down her cheeks as her night dress rode up around her thighs; if she'd felt exposed before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now and she was aware that he had cuffed her wrists together during the struggle and she'd kicked the table leaving her ankle bleeding quite heavily.

"Your father always told you not to trust anyone Hermione, you were just to stupid and filthy to take precious little muggle daddy's advice" his voice spat in a childish tone as he circled her kneeling body.

She had not looked at him yet, afraid she would have to accept it if she did.

"You're not the leader" she said quietly, sensing a hint of vulnerability in the young man's step and thoughts, the kind of vulnerability that only came from carrying out commands.

"I will be when this is all over but you need to do as I say. I'm not going to kill you Hermione… I loved you once. That's the difference between me and my accomplices and Voldemort. He shut himself off and closed off all redeeming emotions, hence making himself an easy target. We can love and that is one of the things that makes us most powerful. No, I will not be killing you… yet" he said and the fact that he was able to feel all these emotions only made it more real. She knew now why he was being so evil.

Shit, bitterness made people do some fucked up stuff.

"You never loved me. You never gave a shit about me otherwise you wouldn't have fucked off to pursue your unsuccessful, shitty quidditch career. If you loved me you wouldn't be here now" she shouted, gasping for breath as a numbness clouded the front of her brain while she tried desperately to remain strong. To remain focused.

"SHUT UP HERMIONE! You don't get to talk. CRUCIO!" he screamed and the curse hit her more powerfully than ever before and as she writhed about on her living room floor, twitching and convulsing in immense, fiery pain, she remembered something Dumbledore had once said to her.

"Miss Granger, I wouldn't worry too much about Mr Malfoy's bullying; sometimes, the most intense hate comes from the deepest most feared parts of our heart, the ones that make us vulnerable. Sometimes, we hate because we are afraid to love. And sometimes we must stop and remember that even the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray"


	20. Chapter 20

It had only been three hours but to Hermione, the presence of someone so… wrong lasted and dragged and it felt like she'd been laid out on the floor for a lifetime.

She'd been weak and tired and even dead before but never had she been in so much pain and yet so calm in her entire life. She had her left cheek resting softly against the carpet and her broken body was clad in her ripped and blooded up night dress.

He was still there, she could feel him. His cologne used to be the only thing that could calm her all those years ago and yet now it was making her want to puke up the entire contents of her stomach. His raspy, lost breaths came in little gasps and dangerously slow intervals. He was calming which meant he would talk again soon. She could not talk. She could not think properly as trembles shook her crucio wracked frame every couple of minutes and her nerves felt like they'd all frizzled into ashes. There was something silky and warm covering her foot, trickling in a different direction every time she dared to move her ankle.

Her ribs were broken, she was most sure of that. The top three on the left side of her rib cage and a bone in her knee had splintered within the warmth of her skin and she could not move. She had no strength left to even think about attempting to escape and she had a strong feeling that Draco would not be arriving back any time soon.

"You left me" he whispered and her heart broke just that tiny bit more as the pain in his words brought her a little closer to reality and filled her with anger and hatred again.

"You left me" he breathed and she closed her eyes, letting more tears flow softly onto the carpet.

"You made me. You made me" she said, her voice barely distinguishable as it was too much of a sob. She didn't want to break down again as it would put pressure on her injuries so she worked hard at composing herself, trying to keep awake no matter how much blood she was loosing from the wound on her ankle bone.

"No, you didn't have to leave, you shouldn't have left me. It was unwise and you knew this would happen, you knew" he said, trying to sound stronger but failing miserably.

"You're not the leader. There are more of you. At least three or four unless Pansy and Percy were the other two and you're the only bitch he has left" she spat, everything was coming together in her head now, the pieces of the everlasting puzzle were beginning to slot carefully into place, painting a disgusting and impossible picture of someone she had loved and trusted who was now her worst enemy, the person ripping her heart to shreds and then going after her body, mind and soul.

Cho, The old woman Rosemary, Romilda, her mother. The hate towards Malfoy and the messages on Narcissa's bedroom wall. Rome, Cannock, France and Egypt; it all fit. Everything had been planned down to the last detail, every precise little indent fixed and it was playing out before their twisted faces as she bled on the floor of her own home.

It was always about her.

Everything had come down to these final last missions. The last components to carry out the master plan created by their ingenious predecessor and descendant. The Blacks, the weak person standing in the background. She was still getting her head around the reasons behind her attacker at the minute but she understood fully the events leading up to the leaders almost victory. She understood now, it made perfect sense and this was what made her push up with all her might from the ground, flip her body over onto its back and summon her dropped wand. She did all this in the split second of a stolen moment.

The spell hit him square in the chest as she laid eyes on her attacker for the first time.

She almost screamed when the body began to convulse and change.

Polyjuice potion. Of course, how silly of her. The wards.

Cho had brought down her wards because she saw someone she trusted as well as Rosemary. Romilda had not made a sound because there was no reason for her not to lock herself in the room with this man, he was someone that everyone had loved and trusted; the perfect cover and yet the fire of the Excellency of it was slowly smoking out as she crawled her body across the floor to the nearest furniture and pulling up with everything that she was to stand up.

She knew it was a long shot but it was worth a try right? She gave up and adjusted herself into a more comfortable position, shooting ropes out of the tip of her wand over at her attacker so he would not wake and kill her. She summoned his own wand from his hand and weakly reached up to catch it in her own hand.

Her ribs and ankle were too badly damaged for her to heal in such a tired, drained state; the force of it would probably kill her and the ropes were tight enough to hold him for the minute.

Malfoy would be home in about eight hours. She hoped she would be able to heal herself by then but she doubted it and she was loosing a lot of blood still as the tremors got more painful every time.

She did not know what to do so she did the only thing she could think of; sit and wait.

* * *

><p>"MALFOY! Wait a second!" A voice echoed down the corridor at the ministry of magic and Draco froze in mid walk, rolling his eyes and turning around to face Harry properly.<p>

"What Potter? I'm not even supposed to be at work today!" Malfoy said in his usual annoyed yet bored tone. Harry narrowed his eyes at him but let the argument go, looking frightened and urgent.

"Where's Hermione?" he asked, sounding worried. "Unlike you and your righteous little redhead, me and my girlfriend aren't joined at the hi-" "don't get smart with me at the moment Malfoy, you'd better come with me. I've got George in the interrogation room and you'll want to hear what he has to say" Harry snapped, already walking back down the hallway in the direction he'd come from and Malfoy started walking after him almost immediately, curious as to why the joker twin would have anything to say to them and why on earth he would be in an interrogation room.

"Potter, what-" "Just shut up and go talk to him. No killing him though Malfoy, he's as good a person as me and you and he's one of my brother's" Harry warned, pushing the door open and waiting for Malfoy to go in. The young blonde entered with a confused expression and raised his eyebrows when he saw the should-be-handsome young man sat at the table.

Instead, Malfoy saw someone who was trying desperately to behave normally but didn't necessarily know how to anymore. Someone you was the mere shell of what he used to be.

"Weasley" Malfoy said curtly and sat down in the chair opposite the tired looking redhead. "Malfoy, I would say it was pleasant to see you but I was brought up not to lie" George Weasley said bitterly, traces of the old humor almost consumed by anger and hatred lacing his voice.

"Well, what did Potter drag me down here to talk to you about then? It had better be worth my time and I lose my job if I start using forceful bad cop techniques on you so don't say something that's about to piss me off, especially when I'm about to go out for a drink with your two older brothers" he said, looking impatient and a little wary. George and his brother had always been the only two people he'd actually respected from the Weasley clan and that was for their ability to see light in every situation. Apparently, this trait had died with Georges twin and he was just as dead inside as Malfoy had been when his father had passed away.

"I would ask you why you're socializing with my 'brothers' but I really couldn't give a shit and I'm wasting my valuable getting drunk time on you so you better appreciate this. I'm only telling you this because despite everything, Hermione was the only one who could be bothered with me when Fred hit the stump and I love her so I want to save her life.

Being me, you hear things. Things at the bar mostly and be surprised that I can even remember the conversation; I was rather out of it when I overheard this. It was a very familiar voice. I think you can guess the rest. Oh come on Malfoy, you're smarter than this. Who wanted Hermione's attention more than anyone else you've ever known? Who left her in the middle of when she needed him the most because he was jealous? Who knew where she was going to be at the right times and who could set something so personally related to Hermione up because said person was personally close to her for so long? Think about it Draco. Hermione gets a lead and she can't get hold of you to let know where she was so where does she go first? She goes back to her home to tell her 'lodger' where she would be going. She was lost for so long and who was the only other person who disappeared for the same amount of time with no real reason to? When you came back, you felt the whole 'eyes' thing and my brother Percy was following you everywhere, distracting you from working on the task in hand right? Well, who uses her first name always? Who knew all the time where she would be and what she would be doing? What is one of the only families left related directly to the Blacks? Come on Malfoy! Use your brains! EGYPT! FRANCE! You remember the first family holiday for the Weasley's ever printed in the newspaper, you remember Hermione boasting about her trip to France in her second or third year! Cannock! Where do the Black family originate from? The west midlands! The memory she found! 'she might seem like she's there but she's never really _there_!' Someone who loved her right from the start but never got more than false love from her, someone who was always second best and someone who left his best friends because of his raging bitterness and jealousy"

George finished, running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his closed eyelids tiredly. Malfoy was staring at the young man in shock as the pieces began to fit into place. Everything was beginning to make sense and fear mixed with the most intense anger he had ever felt hit his blood stream and he saw red. His face pulled into tense muscles and contorting, growing rage; each stressed line was like a pencil mark, cutting through into his deep exterior more than anything had ever done before and he had gone from bored and annoyed to close to snapping in just three minutes.

She had expressed her doubts before in sleepy conversation, how she felt as though she and said person were drifting apart and how she felt as though said person was hiding something from her.

Thomson.

Thomson was the accomplice of course, Malfoy briefly remembered his name on the Black descendant list and the man would have been able to feed the leader information while they had been searching for Hermione. The man had indeed lingered in the shadows and visited her only now and again, offering moral support only when she most needed it so she would trust him wholly. She had dated him as well. Hermione had left him because Arundo Thomson had chosen his quidditch career over their not very strong relationship. When Thomson had broken his leg however, he had come back to England and had taken up a job amongst the Aurors just at the right time before Hermione went missing.

Then there was the leader. Malfoy knew who he was now and he couldn't understand why he hadn't seen it, why he hadn't simply put all these obvious facts together and come to the conclusion quicker? And now it only made the anger worse because he'd gone and fallen in love with Granger and these two evil man had exactly what they needed to kill her.

Her trust.


	21. Chapter 21

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT GUIDELINES POTTER! GRANGER'S IN THAT HOUSE WITH THE GUY WHO HATES HER MORE THAN BELLATRIX DID AND YOU WANT ME TO BE FUCKING CALM?" Malfoy yelled his voice hoarse from the ferocity of it. He was angrier than he'd ever been in his entire life and every single muscle in his body was tensed up painfully, like his veins were pulsing with hot, raging lava instead of blood.

Never before had he felt an emotion so powerfully. Never before had he been so blinded by rage that he felt as though his self control had vanished and every bone in his skull was threatening to split with the violent throbbing of his unforgiving brain. His skin was in cold sweat and he'd had to put his wand in his pocket because he did not trust himself with its use.

The lights were flickering and his anger had already caused his magic to radiate and smash all the windows in Potter's office.

Harry didn't look afraid. In actual fact, he looked as though he was just as pissed off as Malfoy but he was the head of the Auror department and he did have responsibility and a second nature to think twice before unleashing a furious Malfoy onto the poor, defenseless streets of London.

"Malfoy you are not helping anyone by being a dick. Listen to me, when I am sure you have sufficiently… gathered your thoughts, I will allow you to do whatever you wish as sole person in charge of this investigation. I made it perfectly clear when your relationship with Hermione began that I would only be okay with it so long as it did not affect the development of the case. I understand that you love Hermione Draco, so do I but we have a job to do and we cannot burst through the wards on Hermione's house ready to kill this bastard. It doesn't work that way and you know it. So, are you going to calm the fuck down or am I going to fire you and have you put in jail?" Harry asked him, his face remaining neutral but his dark green eyes burned an emerald flame that Draco had only seen in the young man's eyes the second before he had killed Voldemort.

Malfoy cursed and smashed his foot into the desk, the force of the magic running through him healing a broken toe almost immediately as he started pacing, running his hands tightly through his soft blonde hair, his fingers scraping over his scalp.

"Fine… fine. I'm done" Malfoy said sharply and coldly as he turned to Harry and drew in a deep breath.

"Its fine" He repeated and Harry nodded, gesturing for Malfoy to grab his wand.

"Me and you have a visit to make"

* * *

><p>Hermione could feel the last corners of her body shutting down and breathing was getting increasingly harder as her ankle became more and more painful as the rest of her form became more numb.<p>

It was a miracle that her attacker had not stirred yet but she could see a simple bleary vision of him lying face down in the floor, his back rising and falling almost peacefully.

Her hearing was limited now and she could not even grasp the strength to listen to her own shaky breaths as the tears continued to flow consistently down her bloodstained, sweaty face.

Her night gown was barely covering her up properly and her skin had gone a ghostly pale color that could rival that of her lover's and her hair was a wild mess of knotty, blood matted frizz that was barely flattened had it not been for the table cloth she'd managed to pull down over her head to keep herself warm.

As her vision began to fail almost completely, there was a distant roar of fire and someone was grabbing her face, pulling her into their lap and slapping her to keep her awake. But there wasn't enough blood left and her nerve cells were failing her.

"Hermione" the voice was shouting and she recognized it, it brought her through back to reality with a terrible lurch and she could hear the grunting of her attacker as someone who sounded very, very, very angry roped him up tighter and laid a foot into his ribs.

The man bent down and propped her attacker up against the nearest surface and she briefly registered her attacker receiving a punch that smashed through his jaw bone, consequently causing him to cry out in pain.

"Don't Draco" She managed and the man holding her seemed to react to her small words before the blackness crept up on her. Draco crawled towards her and pushed Harry away, grabbing her and lifting her into a bridal lift before jumping into the fire and flooing them to St Mungo's.

* * *

><p>"Someone help me!" Draco shouted and immediately, the waiting room of the hospital was sent into frenzy. Three nurses and a doctor came rushing towards them with a stretcher and he allowed her to be levitated out of his arms as he ran after the nurses rushing her down the hall.<p>

"She's my girlfriend. She was attacked at her house. I just found her like this" Malfoy said curtly but his insides were breaking. His heart thundering and ringing in his ears as he watched her being scooted into a ward down the corridor.

"Your name sir" someone with a clipboard asked him and he looked down at the short little witch looking at him whilst chewing gum.

"Fuck you" he snapped and pushed through the double doors to have several people restraining him before he got to her.

"Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger is in a very critical condition right now. We need to get blood into her quickly but I need you to leave the room" The healer said urgently, pressing a firm hand against his chest.

"Move out the fucking way or I'll rip your balls off and shove them down your neck" he snapped again in a very dangerous warning voice. The healer did not look surprised by his quip though and simply nodded sideways at a couple of healers standing nearby.

He thrashed and shouted as they pulled him out of the room.

"Malfoy I will have you personally removed from the hospital if you do not behave yourself" the healer yelled over his threats, pinning Malfoy right up against the wall.

"You're putting needles into my girlfriend and I want to know what they're doing. I want to be with her, this is my fault" he bellowed back but the healer did not back off. "I will converse with you when I am assured that you will not murder half my staff Malfoy… You haven't changed at all" the healer finished and that drew Malfoy's attention.

He looked at the man restraining him properly and almost gasped… almost.

"Theo" he breathed and the man let go of him. "Dray. I am most surprised to find you beating up my staff in defense of Hermione Granger though. The needles are attached to the required nutrients to stop her from slipping into a coma. She nearly bled out. It's going to take at least twenty four hours before there is even a chance of her waking up so I suggest you make yourself comfortable"

Malfoy weakened and sloped down against the wall, his hands going over his head as he sighed. He still could not quite understand why he was not out on a dangerous rampage, killing anyone who stood in between him and the leader of this sick scheme. He guessed that it was because wherever Hermione was, was where he needed to be. If he wasn't, he really was sure that he would finally lose his mind.

These moments were when the cracks started to show. He had not looked after himself and allowed insanity too close, to push the boundaries of his comfort zone as he watched on while women and men died right in front of him ranging from the age of eight, up to seventeen. These were the times when mistreat of everything that he was nudged at the corners of his brain, threatening to destroy his judgement and cause him to lose everything.

But he opened his eyes still. He still moved upwards, dropping himself into the more conventional seat of a chair and lent his head back against the wall, exposing the soft, pale skin of his neck. He briefly registered that Theo had left the corridor and now he felt a new emotion wash over him. Loneliness.

* * *

><p>"She's perfectly fine, just leave her the fuck alone Blaise. She's coming to live with me for the next few days until we can decide what to do about the developments. We're going to need to act fast though, it won't take him long to realize we caught Thomson; he'll try to get away. He doesn't have a clue that we know who he is though so we're using it to our advantage" Malfoy said as he stood with his best friend outside the hospital under the smoking sheds.<p>

Malfoy was sure he'd be richer than his mother if he had a galleon for every cigarette he'd had in the last three days since Hermione had woken up and he had never seen her so frail. It pained him physically to have to look at her like that; so fucking messed up.

"You're luring him into a false sense of security" Blaise stated casually, one of his hands going deep into his blazer pocket before it went numb with the after winter chill. "Not a word-" "Dray, I've been keeping your secrets for nineteen years; you think I'm going to suddenly start spilling now?" Blaise cut him off, mock offence played at the corners of a sadistic smirk. Draco was convinced.

"Just being sure" he said curtly, taking the last drag of the cigarette, letting the smoke pass in and out of his sinuses and then flicked it to the floor.

He stood up from the bench and wrapped his jacket closer around him against the blow of the wind.

"She loves you" Blaise stated again without blinking and Malfoy coughed slightly "I don't think that's any of your business Blaise" he said emotionlessly and he sniggered. "And you love her" Blaise said. "Again, it's none of your business but yes, I love her" Malfoy replied impatiently. Even if it was Blaise he was talking to, he was still a little uncomfortable saying it out loud. It wasn't that he didn't love her; he loved her more than he ever thought it was possible to love another human being. He was still a Malfoy though; it was all he knew to be stoic and withdrawn.

"Would you look at that Dray, we've grown up" Blaise chuckled, putting out his own cigarette and standing up to face Draco. "Pfft, I would hardly say that Zabini. You're bachelor lifestyle rivals that of Dean Thomas's" Malfoy retorted.

"I'm hurt. You should know though Malfoy, you did it. Lucius told you you'd fail as a man and do the whole 'weak' thing. Look at you now Dray, look at us and our decidedly rather unmanly moment. You proved him wrong and there are a lot of people who are proud of you for that. Anyway, lets go see if Hermione can give us permission to murder this fucktard" Blaise said with a wink and a cold pat to the back as he walked past him.

Draco lingered for a moment, looking around at the simple parking lot and the wizards popping up out of nowhere and bustling into identification. The sun was coming up over the trees and set the scene of any normal crisp, post winter morning but this was different. This morning Draco felt awake. The light in the sky seemed brighter than normal and he could smile despite of the anger brewing inside his organs threatening to boil over if pushed that little bit too far, because he knew that today… today he would get to see her all over again.

* * *

><p>"He's been sighted by one of the Aurors wondering around Britain. I believe it's a place you know of Malfoy…" "Potter, will you just spit it out already, I know there's something you're stuttering to say" Malfoy interrupted him and leaned forward in his chair, showing his boss that he had his full attention.<p>

"He's panicked Malfoy, things weren't supposed to turn out this way with him. He's acting up now. He was supposed to end up with the chance to kill Hermione and then you. Now he can't get to her, he's hurting the next best thing. You"

"POTTER! WILL YOU JUST FUCKING TELL ME!" Malfoy growled, his pupils getting slightly bigger as his face remained casual, his eyes betrayed him once more.

"He went to Donna and Stuart's house. They called us as soon as he left so we checked in with Suzanne and Deanna's missing. Kelsie doesn't know where she is and neither do any of her friends. He's taken her to a rock just on the coast around the corner from Mount Wise. Malfoy, he's not in his right mind, you have to

Understa-" "STOP MAKING EXUSES FOR HIM POTTER! The sooner you accept that he's just as twisted as Voldemort, the sooner we can lock him up in Azkaban. You won't go forward from this if you keep kidding yourself that there's still compassion in him. I've looked into the eyes of people like him, lived with them, associated with them, watched them kill and rape and torture with not a single shred of remorse. He's gone Potter, you can't bring him back over to this side again. He's too far in, there's no pulling him back. He's not your best friend anymore, he probably never was" Malfoy ranted.

Harry took in his words, processing them faster than they were flowing. He heard the sounds but did not quite register their meaning.

"I'm going to go and get my niece back. If I have to kill him I will. I won't lose anymore people I love to evil" Malfoy said professionally and stood up, walking out of the door, leaving open. Harry just stared out of it after his colleague. He was right.

And it hurt like hell.


	22. Chapter 22

HEY!

So this is the last chapter! Oh dear, I'm kind of sad to see it go :'(.

Thank you to mxs and sh0rt3zMalfoy for your reviews on the last chapter and anyone else who read it! PHYSCO. Kung-fu-dancer your review made me laugh!

I'm trying with all my might to bring it together properly and I'm going to try and make this one long so it doesn't finish too quickly. 9 DAYS LEFT TILL PART 2! WOO! My school are even having a Harry Potter today to celebrate the release! YAY! Every year has a different house and I'm in yr 11 so I'm Slytherin! WOO!

Just a huge thank you soo much to everyone who took the time to read this story, favourited, alerted and reviewed. Really, you lot are so amazing. If you get time, go read my other stories and my own one which is up on wattpad. The link is on my profile ;). I was inspired to write this chapter when I was listening to Christina Perri – Jar of hearts; just an uninteresting note :L

Huge love,

Dee xxxxxx

* * *

><p>"The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just have to find the ones worth suffering for" – Bob Marley<p>

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy was furiously calm. Or maybe he was focused, he was not entirely sure but it didn't really matter to him at that point in time because he was about to bring almost a whole year of suffering to an end.<p>

He was wrapped tightly in his black tailored jacket and his silky blonde hair blew in the misty sea air as sprays of soft rain and sea hit his face, all he could feel was life. It flowed through him alongside the magic and blood, lubricating his veins, readying his heart for what was about to come. He could not really determine what would actually occur; all he could really be solid on was that _something_ was going to bring it all to climax. Something was pulling all the pain and love and lust and anger and confusion to this one particular moment as he turned around the coastal corner and climbed over the sharp rocks, he came to a smooth surface, still of natural occurrence but more platform-like than ragged and edgy.

For the first time in about three weeks, he laid eyes on the matted, messy mass of bright red, vibrant hair and strong muscular back. He could see his fifteen year old niece Deanna sitting at the far end of the floor by an old, rusty diving post. She was in a large red LA Gear fleece that was too baggy for even her curvier frame and she looked absolutely terrified. Her legs, clad in tight muggle witch boots and black skinny jeans were pulled up right to her chin and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"Malfoy, I thought you'd come" the cold, croaky, tired voice said.

Gradually the man turned around and Malfoy was not at all surprised by who it was standing before him.

Ronald Weasley.

"Well, someone has to take your place as the third idiotic hero Weasley" he sparred. Everything about Draco was slipping, his focus still there but now the anger he'd been holding back for days was pushing at the seems, trying to get out and rip Weasley's body to pieces.

"So Harry's given up on me then?" Ron asked, his face reddened by the cold as his piercing blue eyes looked on him; cold and relentless. "Not yet. I think I convinced him to accept that you just as much of a disgusting, self righteous, pathetic, twisted bastard as Voldemort" Malfoy replied almost calmly. Ron raised his eyebrows, as if impressed by Malfoy's control.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around behind Draco's back for her. "She's out of hospital. In a safe place" Malfoy answered curtly, his voice dangerously close to shaking with fury at having to look at his face. "You've ruined a lot of lives Weasley" Malfoy stated and Ron threw his head back in a kind of mad laughter but when he brought it back up, there were tears tracks mixed with the rain and his sadistic smile.

"She'll recover. I'll just be there every time to ruin your buzz" Ron promised and now it was Malfoy's turn to snap. Ron should not have threatened Hermione as Malfoy ripped out his wand and pointed it right at Ron's throat.

"Ooh, it seems I've hit a nerve" Ron taunted and Malfoy was gritting his teeth together, still trying to gain control. He felt like a blood crazed vampire trying desperately not to drain someone's body. "I'll show you what it's like to hit a nerve in a minute Weasley"

"If you were going to kill me you would have done it already" Ron chuckled crazily. Malfoy ignored him, keeping his wand in position and looking right at Deanna.

"Dea, come here. Slowly"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE" Ron bellowed, taking out his own wand and pointing it right back at Malfoy.

"Dea" Malfoy demanded, gesturing for her to go to him with his free hand. Just as the shaking girl was about to move past Ron, he flung his strong arm out sideways making her jump and freeze. "I said, don't you dare" he hissed and she stared at his arm with absolute fear.

"Let her go" Malfoy shouted and Ron shook his head.

"We're going to talk first Malfoy. You're going to understand what you've done to me" Ron said and as Malfoy went to shake his head defiantly, Ron grabbed a handful of Deanna's hair and pulled, his right leg going out to kick her legs from underneath her as she screamed and sobbed breathlessly.

"Get your hands off her" Malfoy hissed, his jaw clenching tighter together as he tried to control himself; he deserved a bloody second order of Merlin first class for this! Ron smirked evilly. It looked so strange and shocking to see this man so wrong and twisted, Malfoy had always hated him but at least Ron had always been one of the good ones and had fought upright rather than being a coward like him. Now Ron had given up on the larger picture and was now raging in his own war as the years of being good obviously forced him to rebel against his usual code of honour. Finally, a Gryffindor who had turned out as a rotten egg.

Malfoy had seen Voldemort with the same look in his icy, sharp eyes. The relentlessness and ruthlessness had once impressed Malfoy, he used to think people like Ron were the strongest people on the planet and he had wanted to be like that. Now he loved someone who was the complete opposite and he could never return to that place; the point in his life when he was bordering on becoming one of them. The mark no longer held a symbol of glory, simply his childhood and tainted, dark memories that he would never erase. Now it was Weasley who was the one killing and torturing and using peoples loved ones to get to them.

And yet, Draco could not bring himself to kill the man. He could not do it because if he did, Potter would never forgive him and neither would Molly or Arthur who he had actually become close acquaintances with during his redemption. He did not want to kill anymore either; he did not want to be that person ever again. He swore to himself the moment he got let off Azkaban that he would never take another's life ever again. That was a problem because he had no idea how he was going to stop Ron without doing exactly that.

Then Ron did something stupid. He yanked Deanna up by the hair so her back was pressed up against his body and before Malfoy could stop him, Ron sunk a knife deep into Deanna's back. She let out a blood curdling shriek of pain as the metal tore through the tissues cushioning her spine. Malfoy shouted in anger, letting out a loud, piercing growl of absolute fury. He brandished his wand at Ron's forehead, his hand shaking violently.

"I TOLD YOU TO LET HER THE FUCK GO WEASLEY. THE ONLY THING STOPPING ME FROM RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT RIGHT NO-" He was cut off when a rush of wind and the blurry flash of a body zoomed down the hill and was gone within the split of a second along with Deanna.

Ron yelled in anger and looked at Malfoy, a sudden look of determination on his face as he started towards him, wand and knife in his hands. Before he'd got much further though, a line of green light shot passed Malfoy and hit Ron square in the chest.

Time stopped, everything froze. Ronald Billius Weasley paused in his tracks and shock hit his facial features as his heart failed him and he dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

Malfoy whipped around and had to blink twice when he saw Hermione stood before him dressed in jogging bottoms, Ugg boots and his green hoodie. She was staring wide eyed at Ron's body as the beginnings of tears stung her tear ducts. Something in her brown eyes shifted and she seemed to realised what she'd done. Her knees collapsed and Draco lurched forward, catching her in mid fall as he lowered them to the floor carefully. Her mouth was open as though she wanted to speak or scream but no sound could come out as silent tears pooled like waterfalls down her flushed face.

"Granger we need to move" he breathed softly against her hair as she clung to his jacket like her life depended on it.

She did not answer, her face did not change. Malfoy caged his arm underneath him and wrapped around her waist, creating a vice and assuring her that he wasn't going anywhere. He lifted them, helping her to her feet and turning her away from the sight of Ron's lifeless body.

* * *

><p>"I'm fine, will you stop fussing!" Deanna exclaimed stubbornly. Deanna was beautiful even if she was not a Malfoy by blood and chose only to live a muggle life because she knew of the troubles magic could cause. She was still an extraordinary young witch with ferocity and a sharp bite. Literally. Deanna was part of a clan of very old witches who were young teenagers in skin but were centuries old in fact. She had soft, long brown hair and a curvy, slightly overweight figure. She was tall though so she was able to hide it well. She had pale, shiny eyes that held the normal vulnerability of a fifteen year old girl to them. Her skin was lightly tanned and flawless and her face was in perfect proportion. She was vampire witch. Malfoy had established that Ron had dosed her up on vervain; a type of plant that was known as the vampire's most common weakness AKA the holy/ enchanter's plant. So she was able to fear pain more intensely and all her emotions were heightened along with being unable to use any of her superhuman strengths. He suspected that it was one of her vamp friends that had taken her away so fast before Hermione had killed Ron.

Which was why there was no reason for Deanna to go to the hospital for her injury as she should have heeled properly within twenty four hours which was slightly slower than normal considering the amount of vervain in her system.

"Deanna, you're in pain. Don't expect me to relax until it's heeled" Malfoy scolded. Deanna narrowed her eyes but shut her mouth knowing it was pointless to argue with him.

"There's some wolfsbane plant in my potions bag upstairs, which should help counteract the vervain and speed up the heeling process. You just need to water it down" a small, quiet and shaky voice came from the corner of the room on one of the many arm chairs dotted around it. Malfoy turned to set eyes on his girlfriend for the first time since he'd set her down in her place before going to help his niece. He had not forgotten her presence though but he had always gone to his family first if they needed his help, even if they were adopted.

"Go and have a bath Granger, you look terrible" he commented curtly and he knew she wouldn't care about his offhand tone. "I had to go Malfoy. I couldn't just sit at home why you went after my mass murderous ex-fiancé!" she said slowly and stood up carefully, grunting slightly when she tried to catch her balance.

"I'll send the wolfsbane potion down to you then I'll have a shower" she said chokily and he knew she was trying harder than ever not to start crying again. He let her leave without following her, knowing she would not appreciate him butting into her emotions when she was so messed up; the girl had just killed her best friend.

She exited the room and Malfoy bent down in front of Deanna who was still looking pale and pained. "Please tell me none of your vamps were involved in this; I don't want to be dealing with Elisia and his dick-of-an-all-powerful-brother as well as a depressed and probably psychologically messed up girlfriend" Malfoy said in a tired, pleading voice. Deanna raised her eyebrows "did you not hear? Elisia and Klouse were killed by two American vamp brothers about two year back. It took them about seven months to get a decent opportunity after Elisia double crossed them but they did it" Deanna explained weakly, a look of smug bitterness on her face as she talked of the two very powerful 'originals'. "Was it the Salvator brothers?" Malfoy asked suspiciously and Deanna nodded "how did you guess?" she inquired curiously. "It's always the bloody Salvator brothers. Them and their little pet girl who they're both in love with are always fighting against evil and all that shizz" Malfoy said with a hot of humour, Deanna laughed. "Oh no, Damon has a new love interest. Apparently he's into the witch now. I think her name was Ronnie… or it might have been Bonnie, I'm not sure. Either way, Stephen was relieved; I think it was starting to get to him that his annoyingly sexy older brother was in love with his girlfriend" Deanna chuckled again.

A small box levitated itself through the doorway and into the room and Malfoy conjured up a glass of water. He opened the box and took out a small plant that looked a lot like vervain but was a deep purple colour instead. He dropped it into the water and took out a small vial of the ministries own creation 'dissolver' and poured it into the solution. The plant fizzed and eventually vanished into the water. Immediately, Malfoy grabbed the glass and steadily threaded his hand around the back of Deanna's neck to cup it and lift her lips up to the brim of the cup.

"I warn you, it tastes like battery acid" he said before tipping the glass and letting her drink deeply. A look of discomfort and disgust distorted her face but she swallowed all the same and almost straight away, some colour returned to her cheaks.

Malfoy gently let go of her neck and moved to tidy up. Before he could turn properly though, Deanna's tight, strong hold gripped at the top of his arm "Thank you" she said sternly and he nodded once before she released him and he gathered all the stuff up to put it away.

"Potter will be here soon" Deanna stated and Malfoy groaned "He'll start fussing over Granger and then she'll end up killing him as well" he sighed sarcastically and Deanna giggled. An amused smirk appeared on his face for a moment but it vanished when he remembered how early he could have prevented all this from happening if only he'd been prepared to see the facts lingering under his nose.

"Stoppit. Stop thinking that it was all your fault Malfoy. She didn't see it either, Potter didn't and neither did Zabini. No one did. He was just cleverer than anyone gave him credit for… and a bloody good actor to. We just have to be proud of how hard you worked trying to figure this out and be glad that it's over" she scolded sadly but lightheartedly and with strong conviction. He smiled, Deanna was one of the only people in his life who he truly respected.

"I love you Malfoy" Deanna said with a grin and he rolled his eyes at her "Exactly, we're Malfoys so stop the soppy shit" he snapped. She chuckled again but closed her eyes tiredly and he knew within seconds that she was already asleep.

* * *

><p>"Ronald Billius Weasley was originally a good young boy with excellent morals and a strong sense of loyalty and companionship. He understood what it meant to love and to fight and what it was to be part of the loosing side regardless of the stakes because we had something worth fighting for. Or so it seemed… I would like to take this one moment to remember the good person we knew with a cheesy, boyish smile and bright, youthful eyes. We lost him to evil, as we have lost many others in our battle against light and dark but we will always remember the awkwardness and tactlessness of a once compassionate being today even if he did bad things and hurt people in unimaginable way toward the very end. Ronald Weasley was not Tom Riddle, nor was he Harry Potter. He was twisted and ruthless and out of control and evil but he did have something of humanity in him; it lived in the reasons behind his escapades. It lived in his ability to love perhaps even more powerfully than the boy who lived himself. We should remember the boy who made us laugh and smile, the boy who urged 'we can finish this!' and the boy who cried with the many other's who lost Fred Weasley and not the boy who murdered people we loved, that boy does not matter anymore" Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke loudly and clearly, his sharp and slightly shay American voice echoing across the field that Ron was being buried in.<p>

Two hundred people had shown up for the funeral yet not a single one of them were there to celebrate his life. They were there to find closure, to try to understand why their friend turned out so wrong and lost. None of them were there to truly grieve.

"You okay?" Malfoy asked as Hermione's grip around him tightened and she sniffed a little as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. His arm was hung loosely around her shoulder, the other one by his side, the hand dropped casually in his blazer pocket.

"You look good in a suit" she sobbed and he laughed, placing a kiss to her temple in affection of his witch. "I know" he answered and she hit his chest playfully. Before lifting her hand to her face so she could wipe away her tears. "I think I'm glad I killed the man who took my best friend away from me. I mean, it's like star wars really. Anakin was good and kind until he lost the people he loved. Then he was taken over by Darth Vader and his best friend Obi wan killed him. I see it a little like that" she said and Malfoy rolled his eyes again. "I have no idea what you just said but I'm sure it's mildly intelligent in some kind of weird way" he said in a bored tone and she giggled a bit, getting a disapproving look from a nearby woman wearing a hat that looked like a stuffed giraffe.

"Everyone's upset because he's gone" she stated and Malfoy looked at he sideways, his cheek gently resting against her forehead "Well it is a funeral, people normally are upset at these things" he said and she narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Why do I put up with you?" She asked with a childish groan. Malfoy grinned smugly "Because I'm unbelievably sexy, good in bed and... you love me" he said. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his face deeply "And you love me" she concluded and he simply replied with a strong nod.

Her facial features softened but her eyes stayed dry "Can we go home now?" she asked and he nodded. She lifted her face and pressed a small kiss to his lips before taking his hand and lacing their fingers together. With a barely audible gust of wind and lost whispers and explanations, they apparated away. That moment was a moment of sadness and soft, comforting reality, the two people with nothing but unconventional, unexpected, unbelievably imperfect love for each other disappeared to get back to their house, ready to start it all again.


End file.
